Katsina govt proffers solution to medical tourism by Nigerians

Katsina State Government has initiated measures to curtail medical tourism embarked upon by Nigerians.

The State Deputy Governor, Malam Faruk Lawal Jobe made this known to media men at the second edition of the monthly briefing on the achievements of the government.

He said it’s in that regard that the state government is making frantic efforts to establish state-of-the-art facilities in its hospitals for the benefit of the people.

“This administration has completed the construction and equipping of the dialysis centre at General Amadi Rimi Specialist Hospital Katsina, which is adjudged to be one of the best in the country at the total cost of N681,104,727.92.

“Additionally, the contract for the construction and equipping of a modern imaging and diagnostic Centre was awarded at the total cost of N13,137,170,677.93 and work is currently ongoing at the site located at General Amadi Rimi Hospital, Katsina,” he said.

The Deputy Governor said the government has realised the need to address the issue of sales and consumption of substandard drugs, he said this also has been catered for in the programs being implemented to achieve its aims.

“Accordingly, the Drugs and Medical Supply Agency has been strengthened to ensure the purchase and supply of quality drugs through a revolving scheme. So far, drugs worth N3,331,031,121.00 have been purchased from reputable pharmaceutical companies and distributed across health facilities in the State. In addition, the State Government in collaboration with Global Fund renovated and converted a warehouse to a pharma grade at the cost of N766,815,832.00.

“This facility is strategically placed to play a vital role in ensuring efficient storage and distribution of essential medicines. Furthermore, the State Government has awarded the contract for the construction and equipping of a modern Pharmaceutical Production Unit at the total cost of N1,689,198,074 and the construction is ongoing,” he said.

Similarly, on the achievements so far since its inception, the state government said it also sustained the free Medicare Policy for free delivery, antenatal, dialysis, cesarean sessions and some other services. Jobe said, in this regard, the sum of N397,000,000:00 was expended during the period under review.

He said, the exercise is meant to assist the teeming population of Katsina State, especially the less-privileged to have access to basic healthcare services with relative ease.

In the area of manpower, the government has recruited an additional 254 health personnel for the secondary health facilities in the State, the government said, this is intending to inject more manpower to handle the growing health demands.

These include Medical Doctors, Nurses and Midwives, Medical Lab Scientists and Pharmacists, enrolment of approximately 26,000 retirees in the State under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund is ongoing.

“I am pleased to inform you that this scheme has turned out to be a huge success in this state as the Agency has received awards for outstanding contributions to the healthcare sector for two consecutive terms from the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Award (NHEA),” Jobe said.

Additionally, he said, the need for effective primary healthcare delivery services cannot be over-emphasised. To that regard he said, the sum of N1,912,640,301 was expended by the State Primary Healthcare Agency to carry out its functions for effective healthcare delivery service to the people of the state.

He said, “These activities include among others, construction of a dry store, purchased and distributed laptop computers to LGA monitoring and evaluation officers for data management to enhance evidence-based decision making in healthcare delivery.”

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