A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) engagement has announced plans to establish a monitoring unit aimed at tracking the activities of health facilities, particularly in rural areas.
The group aims to contribute to the development of improved healthcare services across the country.
The CSOs highlighted the establishment of the monitoring unit as a measure to ensure that ordinary citizens have access to quality and affordable healthcare, especially in rural areas.
The decision to create the monitoring unit was reached during a meeting held in Kaduna, where members discussed the challenges facing healthcare delivery services, particularly in local government areas.
In a joint statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the group, Bala Ahmad Mohammad and Peter Ibrahim Amfani, respectively, the CSOs expressed concern about the state of healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria.
They noted that the country’s healthcare facilities were severely underdeveloped, lacking modern medical facilities essential for quality care. Nigeria’s healthcare indicators were described as ranking among the worst in Africa.
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The group emphasized the need to monitor the functionality of medical healthcare facilities, equipment, and personnel efficiency to address issues of deprivation, poverty, and death rates.
The focus on monitoring PHCs is seen as a way to complement national healthcare development agencies and ensure that ordinary citizens can enjoy affordable and accessible healthcare services without bureaucratic obstacles.
The statement highlighted various barriers limiting the delivery of PHCs, including internal conflicts, crime, corruption, multiple governmental and donor agencies, vertical programs, low political commitment to implementing approved health policies, differences in remuneration between levels of care, inadequate referral services, insufficient staff, high drug and service costs, and the availability of healthcare for 24 hours.
The group called on the federal government to enhance funding for the health sector, expressing concern about the relatively weak health system and the lack of a coordinated response across the country.
They also pointed out reported health workforce crises due to poor welfare, insufficient health facilities, and emerging factions among health workers.
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