Borno govt celebrates improved health care systems

BORNO State Government has said that the general health care systems which include maternal and child care deliveries, immunisations and many other aspects have generally improved with the introduction of performance-based financing system.

This assertion was emphasised when the Commissioner of health, Haruna Meshelia inaugurated a Steering Committee and Technical Working Group on Performance-Based Financing (PBF) under Additional Financing-Nigeria State Health Investment Project (AF-NSHIP), a World Bank assisted Project.

While inaugurating the two committees on Thursday in Maiduguri Meshelia said, the Projects implemented in Collaboration with National and State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) is to strengthen the Health system in the state.

Dr Mshelia noted that the Project which was started in June 2017 in the state was actually aimed at strengthening the institutional processes at the Primary Health Care levels to ensure the quality and quantity of the health services through reasonable level of autonomy, increased accountability, staff motivation, Health Facility Ownership by Communities in the catchment areas with strict adherence to PBF,which also means “Earn according to your Performance.

Mshelia is to serve as Chairman of the State Project Steering Committee SPSC of 15-members  which includes: Commissioners of Finance, Local Government and Emirate Affairs, State Planning Commission, Permanent Secretaries, Directors and representatives of some Women and religious groups in the state.

The Chairman of the Technical Working Group, however, is the Executive Director, Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Sule Meleh who also has ten other people as members to work with to beef up the bastardised health sector from the grassroots.

Meshelia further noted that, “the roles and responsibilities of the SPSC is to provide overall stewardship, planning, management and monitoring of project activities, review reports of project activities in the benefiting Local Government Areas, liaise with Federal Ministry of Health and other Sectoral ministries as required and ensure synergy with national health priorities among others.

“While the technical working group is to provide operational support and improved supervision to all the council areas within the state, as well as ensure capacity building for Ward Development Committees and Facility Management Committees so they could perform their assigned roles properly”.

Executive Director, SPHCDA, Dr Sule Meleh, represented by Alhaji Kundiri Bukar of the Project Implementation Unit, said, since the Nigerian Government signed the MOU with the World Bank and in view of the achievements recorded in the pilot states of Adamawa, Ondo and Nassarawa states, giving a room for Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Taraba and Gombe, Borno took the lead by payment of 50% of its investment credit to all contracted facilities in the pilot Local Government Areas.

The pilot local council areas include Maiduguri and Jere, with scale-up approval for additional four more which is why Askira- Uba, Biu, Kaga and Magumeri are among those targeted.

Meleh also said training and retraining of Officers in Charge and Ward Development Chairmen/Chairpersons of the contracted facilities and payments of subsidies for second and third quarter 2017 have been conducted.

Responding, Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Kois expressed gratitude to the State Government and the World Bank for finding them worthy to steer the activities of the project in the state.

He remarked that, as members of the highest decision-making body, they will be committed to ensuring the success of the project which has a direct impact on the lives of the people in the state.