Governor to upgrade 70 health centres with N5bn
The Kwara State Government has commenced the upgrade of 70 Primary Health Care facilities across the state’s three senatorial districts, elevating them to Level 2 PHCs at a cost of N5 billion.
Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Prof Nusirat Elelu, disclosed this during the contract signing ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Ilorin.
The intervention, according to Elelu, includes infrastructural upgrades, solarisation, provision of staff quarters, potable water supply, and the supply of ultra-modern hospital equipment across all benefiting PHC facilities.
A statement by KWSPHCDA’s Press Secretary, Alade Opeyemi, released on Sunday, highlighted the role of the World Bank-supported Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Progress and Transforming services project in funding the initiative.
“The intervention is coming with the support of the World Bank-supported IMPACT services project,” the statement read.
“It will make Primary Health Care facilities better positioned to provide quality and improved healthcare services across the state.
“The overall objective is to make all PHC facilities ‘fit for purpose’ since the PHC system is the first contact with the people at the grassroots in the national health system,” Elelu explained.
She urged contractors to deliver quality work, warning that any contractor who fails to meet standards will have their contract terminated.
She emphasised that the agency would closely monitor the projects to ensure judicious use of the funds.
“This is part of the efforts of the Kwara State Government to revitalise the PHC system in the state,” Elelu stated.
Recalling past efforts, she noted that 53 PHCs had previously been renovated, while nine others are currently undergoing renovation.
More facilities, she added, would be upgraded in the near future to enhance grassroots healthcare delivery.
“This is a further demonstration of the commitment of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to the Primary Health Care system,” Elelu said, revealing that 1,005 PHC workers, including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, were recently recruited to strengthen the system,” she said.
IMPACT Programme Manager, Dr Michael Oguntoye, assured all that the contracts would be delivered within three months, stressing that the state government would not tolerate undue delays.
According to Oguntoye, the PHC upgrade is one of several interventions under the IMPACT project, aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality.
“The primary beneficiaries of the IMPACT project are under-five-year-old children and women,” he said, adding that the initiative would also enhance access to health services for all residents in the state.
Additionally, Oguntoye noted that the IMPACT project would strengthen national monitoring and evaluation systems while contributing to service quality improvement and demand generation at a national level.
