Kano State Government Renovates, Upgrades 300 Health Facilities In 34 Months – Gov. Ganduje
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Loading ...By Yakubu Salisu A, Kano
Kano state government has renovated and upgraded about 300 health facilities, mainly Primary Health Centers and provided them with equipment, drugs and medical consumables worth billions of Naira in the past 34 months.
Equally, the state government recruited thousands of health professionals across several specialties and deployed them to various health facilities in the state, as part of commitment towards improving health outcomes, within the framework of key national and international policies such as the SDGs.
The state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje disclosed this today at the Development Alternatives Incorporated, DAI “Governance Matters” Roundtable meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja.
At the conference, which was slo attended by the Minster of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewale and the governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i among other personalities, Gov. Ganduje explained that the government’s investment in health was guided by the development of high quality, focused and result-based planning.
“To address gaps in secondary health care, we are working with Dangote Foundation to upgrade Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital. We also completed the abandoned Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital and the Pediatric Hospital at zoo road. We intend to make them referral hospitals and to use them to curtail medical tourism”, he asserted.
“We have since sent a bill to the House of Assembly to ensure that the hospitals attract the best brains, to prevent the personnel from going on strike at will and to ensure that they are managed in a sustainable manner so as to ensure that the investment is not abused”, Governor Ganduje remarked.
“Because health outcomes are linked to the recruitment of skilled health workers, we are increasing the number of our health training institutions while at the same time we are sponsoring health professionals like doctors, nurses and nursing tutors for training to enable us bridge the gap”, he added.
According to him, “we have recently established the Kano state Contributory Health Care Management Agency. This will curtail the huge burden of out-of-pocket financing to health care for our people. We have also set up Kano Health Trust Fund which will provide additional financing for the health sector”.
The governor stated that through a partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation, the state government was able to consolidate effort in routine immunization, pointing put his administration achieved seamless transition to 100 percent sustainable financing of the routine immunization program after the expiration of the initial four year Memorandum of Understanding.
“We have also signed another MOU with the two foundations that covers broader health interventions around women and child health”, Dr. Ganduje said.
He advised the Federal Government to decentralize management of the health care system in the country to provide room for more effective supervision, monitoring and evaluation and aid efficient planning, development and delivery of health services.
