Fresh facts have emerged that the Federal Government has through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency disbursed NPHCDA disbursed N13.2bn to 36 states and the FCT.This was gleaned from according to a document sighted by Newsdiaryonline.
The document shockingly however revealed that only eight states have commenced disbursement of fund to the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCS)
Giving a breakdown of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) the document said, “NGN13.2 Billion received by the NPHCDA Gateway of the BHCPF has been disbursed to 36 states and the FCT”
However: “Of the 36 states and FCT that have received funds, only Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, FCT, Niger and Osun have commenced disbursement of funds to PHCs” the official document said.
NPHCDA Support for COVID-19 battles
This revelation emerged amid disclosures of the efforts of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, aimed at supporting the battle to contain COVID-19 in Nigeria.
It was learnt that the NPHCDA also rolled out initiatives to support the operationalization of government’s plans during the COVID-19 Pandemic. These NPHCDA initiatives include Institution of COVID-19 Command Center; training of health staff at all levels; PHC Optimization amidst COVID-19 outbreak and distribution of PPE to health care workers
Remarkably, it was revealed that , the NPHCDA has trained over 220,000 officers at National, sub-national, and community levels on COVID-19 preparedness and response
According to a document seen by Newsdiaryonline correspondent, the breakdown of those trained include 105 trainees at national level, 7,310 at state level, 59,418 at LGA level and 162,74 people described as “Community Resource groups, community influencers” at ward level.
Beyond polio-free status, NPHCDA prepares to achieve Nigeria’s target of Universal Healthcare by 2030
the National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA is led by Dr Faisal Shuaib who is the Executive Director/ CEO.
Newsdiaryonline learnt that CEO’s deep intellectual insight and global experience came in handy as Nigeria pulled all the stops to ensure a polio-free status –of course with the active collaboration of other global players.
After the polio free status, Nigeria now has its eyes trained on a new target:to ensure Universal Healthcare by 2030
The achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030 through the PHC System Strengthening is premised,according to an official document, on fulfilment of key underlying principles such as : a highest-level political decision: to ensure equity, justice and productivity, to emphasize the development of the Primary Health Care system at all levels
A second principle is a commitment to make investments in PHC that ensures more money for health; better spending of money for health; more health for the money spent on health
There is also the need for a strategic plan to have a well-performing health system with regards to: equity, efficiency, quality, responsiveness and resilience
Also achieving universal healthcare requires commitment to implement peoplecentered programmes that ensure: more people have access to care, more services are covered and out-of-pocket payment is reduced or remove.
The Agency:
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), established in 1992, and merged with the National Programme on Immunization (NPI) in 2007.It has the mandates to deliver on the these seven corporate goals: such as Control Preventable Diseases:Eradicate polio and limit the occurrence and impact of diseases using education, immunization and other proven interventions.; Improve access to Basic Health Services: Make basic health services available by ensuring communities have access to health facilities, services and basic health insurance.; Improve quality of care: Ensure basic health services are people-oriented and delivered according to established quality standards and protocols.; Strengthen the institution: Strengthen Zonal structures, State representation, internal communications, monitoring and evaluation, procurement and the financial management system.; Develop high-performing health workforce:Organize systems and structures to deliver effective support services through, for example, PHC guidelines, norms and enabling acts for states and LGAs; Strengthen partnerships: Mobilize and coordinate stakeholders such as Ministries, Departments and Agencies and development partners, media etc. to support the implementation of PHC. And Strengthen community engagement: Promote community participation, ownership and responsibility for health through Ward Development Committees and communication and programmes.
On January 11th, 2017, Dr Faisal Shuaib was appointed as the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NPHCDA for a four-year renewable tenure by President Muhammadu Buhari
On his assumption of office in January 2017, the NPHCDA set out 4 cardinal vision to build a robust agency that will deliver tangible results to improve primary healthcare in Nigeria
The achievements, successes, lessons learned and challenges over the last four years have provided a foundation for driving a strategic 10 years roadmap for Primary Healthcare System Strengthening by convening a 2020 PHC Summit
Some of the efforts include kick- starting the battle against polio which led to declaration of Nigeria as Polio free; it has increased immunization rate and strengthening of supply chain; strengthened governance and accountability in the agency; it has been part of FG’s PHC revitalization agency and working towards achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030 through the PHC System Strengthening . In driving the UHC agenda, NPHCDA will focus on four strategic areas over the next few years namely: PHC revitalization; Post-Polio PHC System Strengthening; ‘CHIPS Programme’ and Human resources for health.
