From Abdullahi Jalaluddeen, Kano.
The Executive Director, of a Non Governmenal Organization, Resource Centre For Human Rights and Civic Education, CHRICED, Ibrahim Zikirullahi has decried over high level of underfunding of maternal healthcare in Kano State.
Zikirullahi stated this while unveiling findings of a three years baseline study carried out by the organization tagged “Assessing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Government Spending on Maternal, Newborn and Child Healthcare in Kano State.”
He said the primary healthcare facilities in the two local government areas – Gwale and Kumbotso selected for the baseline study were an delapidated only were 40 per cent operational.
According to him, “About 70 per cent of the budgetary allocations were used to pay salaries and other running and operation costs, leaving virtually nothing for the provision of essential facilities and medicines for the patients who visited the grossly inadequate healthcare facilities in the two local governments. Therefore, the capital expenditure is not much to impact on the lives of the people.
According to him Most of the primary healthcare centres are more or less an eyesore,saying investigations revealed that there were no basic facilities, electricity, water among others.
“Our baseline was conducted in two local government areas of Gwale and Kumbotso LGAs. In these LGAs, we visited 50 facilities. And if we are to assess the facilities and score them, we would say 40 per cent of the PHCs were working or operational in those LGAs,”
The Executive Director maintained that CHRICED was working to reinitiate and push for the passage of Maternal, Newborn and Child Healthcare bill in the state.
He added that the NGO was putting in place strategies that would enable them to have a number of interface with the members of state House of Assembly, Ministry of Health and ensure that the communities themselves who are to be major beneficiaries takes it upon themselves to push for the passage of the bill.