The Borno Government says it has spent
over N8 billion on reconstruction and rehabilitation of health
facilities destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents in the state.
The News reports that health sector is
one of the areas worst hit by the insurgency as the large scale
destruction of facilities has paralysed medical services in the state.
Statistics by the United Nation Office
for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( UN-OCHA ) shows that 6.9
million people need healthcare interventions in the North-East due to
humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.
According to the UN agency, a greater
percentage of those in need are in Borno, who cannot access quality
healthcare services especially in rural communities.
In an attempt to mitigate the effects
and transform the sector, the Borno Government in collaboration with the
Federal Government and development organisations embarked on massive
reconstruction and rehabilitation of projects to enhance healthcare
delivery at the grassroots.
The State Government had spent over N4
billion on procurement of medical equipment and another N4 billion on
rehabilitation of 248 health facilities ravaged by the terrorists.
The state Commissioner of Health, Mr
Haruna Mishelia, said the insurgents had destroyed over 80 per cent of
healthcare facilities, including 19 General Hospitals, which he said,
crippled healthcare delivery in the state.
Mshelia, however, said that in spite of
the security challenges posed by the insurgency, the state government
initiated viable projects designed to reinvigorate the sector and
enhance quality healthcare delivery to the people.
He said the projects were executed in
the liberated communities in the 27 local government areas in the past
two years, adding that rehabilitation and upgrading works on 19 general
hospitals were successfully completed.
The commissioner listed the projects to
include the general hospitals in Guzamala, Rann, Chibok, Uba, Biu,
Askira, Kwayar-Kusar, Mafa, and Dikwa general hospitals.
Others are: Mobbar; Shani, Marama,
Munguno, Damboa, Ngala, Benisheikh, Konduga, Ngarannam, Kaga, Gwoza and
Kukawa general hospitals, adding that plans had reached advanced stage
for the establishment of 8 new general hospitals in addition to the
existing 24.
He said eight general hospitals had so
far been equipped with modern equipment to enhance their operations, and
they included Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital; Moloi, Shani,
Biu, Benisheikh, Gubio, Konduga and Dikwa general hospitals.
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“Two other hospitals at Azare and
Gajiram have been upgraded to 80-bed Capacity, while work on a 250-bed
capacity women and children Hospital was completed,” he said.
Mshelia also disclosed that N4.2 billion
was spent on procurement of medical equipment such as radio diagnostic
and scanning machines, ethno-cardiographs, mammography and digital X-ray
gadgets.
According to him, the equipment would be
distributed to Accident and Emergency (A&E) and Intensive Care
Units in the hospitals.
On immunisation and disease control, the
commissioner said over N200 million was spent to replenish the
paediatrics department at Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, as well as
rehabilitation of the Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA)
office.
He said the state government was
collaborating with Bill and Melinda Gates as well as Dangote Foundations
to enhance routine immunisation.
Under the partnership over $1 million dollars were spent on rehabilitation and provision of medical equipment to 40 clinics.
Equally, about one million people were
inoculated against cholera; 1.3 million children immunised against polio
and measles; 888, 905 children and expectant mothers provided with free
malaria drugs and 2.1 mosquito nets were distributed to households.
“Through our partnership, we are able to
control outbreak of epidemics such as cholera, meningitis and Hepatitis
E,” Mshelia said.
He also disclosed that the state
government was providing free drugs in all the health facilities and had
introduced integrated healthcare services in the Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs) camps.
He said the state government had
recruited 100 doctors and awarded scholarship to 60 female medical
students to address the manpower shortage in the health sector.
Statistics by the state Ministry of
Health shows that there are 4, 800 health workers in the state,
comprising 158 doctors; 1, 094 Nurses and Midwives; 29 laboratory
scientists; 150 laboratory Technicians; 250 community health attendants
and 12 pharmacists.
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