A total of 750 stand-alone handwashing tools have been donated to the Bauchi State government for distribution to the health facilities by the National PIU of the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP-NPHCDA).
The move was part of the project intervention and health support in the collective fight against COVID-19 in the state in line with the guiding principles of prevention and control mechanism.
While receiving the tools at the state NSHIP PIU office, Bauchi, on behalf of the state government, Executive Chairman, BASPHCDA, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed said that the coming of NSHIP to protect Bauchi State has been a great success story in recent times in terms of projects management and execution.
He also noted that so far about 194 health care centres and 12 general hospitals had undergone total restructuring and modern results-oriented services introduced at the facilities in order to promote public health care services among the people.
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Rilwanu Mohammed further said that from the NSHIP intervention, health care centres, health workers, people and communities have been given utmost priorities especially through renovation, construction, investment credit, and of course subsidy payment initiative which are made according to performance-based services.
He then assured the NPHCDA that Bauchi State government will make effective utilisation of the tools, as well as quick and equal distribution of the items to all the health facilities and general hospitals in the state.
The BASPHCDA Chairman, therefore, called on the people to ensure self-protection and reject the notion that COVID-19 is not real, rather an avenue for money-making, emphasising that the results of denial are impactful to more increase in the number of cases the state is witnessing today.
He added that “we have had and face the same issues during polio eradication campaign but today Nigeria has been declared as a polio-free country by the WHO.
It was the resilience of government in the face of stiff opposition that made it possible. ”
While presenting the tools to the state government, the state NSHIP Project Coordinator, Dr Adamu Mohammed said that the National Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in the NPHCDA has procured and allocated 750 Stand-Alone Hand Washing tools for Bauchi State and already over 300 have been received by the state NSHIP PIU while the remaining 450 is underway.
It will be recalled that the NSHIP project has renovated a 100-bed capacity isolation centre at the Toro General Hospital as part of corporate social responsibility in the fight COVID-19 in the state.
Tribune Online reports that other supports include human and material support to the contact tracing and surveillance pillar in the rapid response team, procurement of hand gloves, hands sanitizers, face masks, and others across the 204 health facilities using business plans, the printing of registers for documentation of samples collected for testing to the epidemiology unit of SPHCDA.
In another development, just a few days before the NSHIP project will wind up, the state PIU received an extension of the project from the World Bank by an additional 4 months.
The project was expected to be closed 31st of this June 2020 after it has lasted for 4 years of implementation as contained in a statement by Ibrahim Sani, Information Officer of BASPHCDA.
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