In fulfilling the mandate of ensuring child survival, development and protection of the rights of children as given by the UN General Assembly in 1946, Bauchi Field Office of UNICEF has in collaboration with the EU built capacity of over 3500 health workers on different PHC services and provided medical supplies, equipment and motorcycles worth 1.856m US Dollars distributed to the 323 PHCs and provided mobile storage unit worth 14,000 US Dollars.
UNICEF also supported delivery of Healthcare to 144 hard-to-reach settlements in 9 LGAs using 9mobile outreach teams and provided outreach services through 600 Community Resource Persons (CORPs) trained and kitted who have provided appropriate treatment to 523,607 Under 5 children aged 6-59 months identified with symptoms of any of the three most common child killer diseases (malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia) and support universal health coverage achievement, delivery of Healthcare to hard-to-reach settlements using mobile outreach teams and outreach services.
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These were disclosed by the UNICEF Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Bhanu Pathak on Tuesday during the handover of renovated PHCs to the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency held at Liman Katagum in Bauchi LGA under the Strengthening Primary Healthcare and Community Resilience for Improved Maternal, New-born, Child Health & Nutrition (MNCHN) Outcome project in three Northern states of Nigeria including Bauchi.
While handing over the PHCs to the Executive Chairman of the SPHCDA, Bhanu Pathak explained that one important pillar the project recognises and seeks to address is that effective positive health practice environment influences utilisation of Healthcare by the populace and job satisfaction for health workers.
He added that in line with this, UNICEF with the EU support has earmarked 161 Health Facilities to be renovated out of which 62 renovation has commenced of which 22 already completed and handed over with 3 designated as Centers of Excellence thereby making different sections of the health facilities including improving the water and sanitation to be completed and handed over in phases.
The UNICEF Chief concluded that the Fund will continue to fulfil its obligations in the partnership with Bauchi state government and will support the state to implement interventions that will help the state attain the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the various sectors of the collaboration.
In his speech while receiving the PHCs, Executive Chairman of the SPHCDA, Dr Rilwanu Muhammad commended UNICEF and the EU for the intervention which he said is in line with the agenda of the present administration in improving health care delivery in the state.
Rilwanu Muhammad added that the administration under Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has declared a state of Emergency on the health sector in order to ensure that people of the state got the required health coverage and attention.
He also assured that the Agency will continue to collaborate with all the development partners in ensuring that the state of health care delivery was improved upon in line with the SDGs and other indices declaring that adequate data gathering will be done to ensure adequate monitoring of health indices.
The Executive Chairman then assured that the PHCs handed over to the State will be adequately mentained while qualified health personnel will be deployed to man them.