Bauchi plans to replicate drugs revolving scheme in 160 primary health centres

IN its resolve to improve maternal neo-natal and child healthcare delivery, Bauchi state government has mapped out plans to extend drug revolving scheme to 160 Primary Health Centers across the state.

Managing Director of the State Drugs Management and Medical Consumable Agency (DMMA), Pharmacist Abdulkadir Ahmed announced this plan when the sub-committee on Advocacy and Knowledge Management (AKMC) of the Bauchi State Accountability Mechanism on Maternal and Child Healthcare (BASAM) paid him an advocacy visit Tuesday.

He said that already a similar number of PHC centres (160) have been enjoying the support of notable international donors such as Plan International and N-SHIP while the DMMA played its regulatory roles of providing training and supervision of the DRF to ensure the success of the scheme.

“Our plan is to ensure that by the year 2019 all the 323 PHC centres across the state operate the DRF to afford the socially disadvantaged families the opportunity to buy quality drugs at an affordable rate, he explained.”

Abdulkadir Ahmed added that, “It is pertinent to inform you that part of our agency’s mandate is to ensure sustainable drug supply system in all government hospitals particularly in secondary health facilities, but I assure you that your visit will ginger us to introduce the DRF scheme in the remaining PHC centres once we receive more funding from government.”

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He also assured the advocacy team of the Agency’s commitment to sustaining the supply of life-saving commodities in support of MNCH services saying “our agency will always favour indigent families especially those living in the rural areas.”

Pharmacist Abdulkadir Ahmed, however, expressed regret that its takeoff funds had dropped from N27 million to just about N2 million, noting that despite this financial challenge, the agency had been able to weather the storm through effective management of available scarce resources.

Earlier, the Chairman of Sub- the advocacy and knowledge management committee of BASAM Comrade Ladan Isah Dalhatu said since most women of childbearing age normally sought medical support from PHC facilities within their immediate environment, the DMMA should extend its services beyond the secondary health facilities to the PHC centres.

Comrade Ladan Dalhatu frowned at the negative health index which listed Bauchi as one of the states with the highest maternal and child mortality in the North East, hoping that the DMMA would compliment the effort of plan international and N-SHIP by urgently introducing the DRF services for the benefit of the disadvantaged families.