Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has called for global support towards improving healthcare delivery in the state.
Matawalle made the appeal when a team of international partners from WHO, UNICEF, Chigari, Solina, Bill and Gates Foundations visited him in Gusau on Monday.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mallam Ibrahim Suleiman, the governor said that the state needed financial and technical support to boost its healthcare delivery. He said that the state also needed support in the training of personnel and the provision of more state-of-the-art medical equipment.
”We have taken steps to provide infrastructure and manpower to improve health service delivery to the communities in the state. ”So far, my administration has completed primary health care centers in the 147 wards of the state,” he said.
Matawalle further said that the state government had procured 147 tricycle ambulances for the health centres to handle emergencies. He said his administration had upgraded the existing secondary health care infrastructure across the state to ensure improved access to medical care. ”We have also recruited no fewer than 515 health personnel to enhance service delivery. ”The state government has procured mobile clinic vans which have been strategically located for emergencies,” he said.The governor, however, stated that more work was still needed to support the sector towards more efficient performance.
Matawalle commended the partners for their untiring support to the state in the face of heightening insecurity. Speaking earlier, leader of the team, Prof. Muhammad Ali-Pate, expressed their commitment to partner relevant stakeholders to build confidence among communities. Ali-Pate, a former Minister of State for Health and Executive Chairman, Chigari Foundation, said it was important for communities to understand the essence of health interventions.
The team leader said that the commitment of traditional rulers, religious and opinion leaders was crucial in making the communities to accept public health interventions. He urged the state government to invest more in health security through the provision of basic services such as vaccines, disease surveillance and training of health workers.
The former minister said that health partners working in the state were targeting to increase routine immunisation coverage and access to antenatal care. He said that health security was crucial to the achievement of socio-economic growth in any society. “We need to accept scientific solutions to the ailments that afflict us. Some diseases are preventable, they can be prevented through immunisation.
”The absence of a willing system to deliver available interventions such as vaccines and immunisation can contribute to health insecurity. ”Diseases limit the ability of people to grow and live to adulthood when they can contribute to societal growth and development,” he said. Ali-Pate said that health security should be seen as a key part of the development agenda of any reasonable society.(NAN)
