A Non-Governmental Organization, Follow the Money Initiative, has decried the lack of qualified medical personnel to administer COVID-19 vaccines in most primary health care (PHC) centres in Gombe state.
Malama Hadiya Usman, Gombe State Lead, Follow the Money Initiative, stated this in Gombe on Tuesday, at a town hall meeting on COVID-19 response at Kumbiya kumbiya PHC.
She said most of the health care centres could not meet WHO requirements that each facility should have two nurses, midwives and a doctor for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Usman said there were no doctors, nurses and midwives at the six PHCs sampled in the three senatorial districts of the state.
She said the organisation visited Kalargu, Kentengeteng in Gombe South, Bojude and Kumbiya kumbiya in Gombe North and Deba and Kwadon in Gombe Central.
It was observed that most residents of the communities, where the facilities were located, had not benefited from the vaccines due to lack of proper sensitization, instead the beneficiaries were people from other places.
Although, each of the primary health care centres were allocated 290 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, but due to the lack of functional storage facilities at the PHCs the vaccines were kept elsewhere, she said.
According to Usman, the vaccines were supposed to be kept at the PHCs not outside the PHCs, because the need to use them might arise at anytime.
NAN reports that the NGO is a participatory advocacy-based initiative that seeks proper use of government and international aid funds at the grassroots.
Reacting, Mr Felix Gambo, Director, Research and Statistics, Gombe state Primary Health Care Development Agency, expressed his dissatisfaction with the issues raised by the organisation.
He said the 114 PHCs in Gombe had moved to the next level, because the present administration in the state had equipped the PHCs and they were providing optimum services.
He also said that they have adequate staffing of Community Health Extension workers at the various primary health facilities.
Gambo advised the organisation to go back and review their findings, saying that the data and figures given to them by the persons that conducted the survey were not accurate.
“If you need accurate data and information, do not hesitate to come to the Primary Health Care Agency,” he said. (NAN)
