By Ehigimetor Igbaugba
The Cross River Government has begun rehabilitation and upgrading of 100 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Dr Henry Ayuk, the state’s Commissioner for Health, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Sunday.
He said that the upgrade of PHCs was part of a broader plan by the state to improve accessibility to health facilities and achieve universal health coverage
The commissioner said that work in some of the PHCs had been completed while others were nearing completion.
According to Ayuk, the upgrade of the PHCs were not limited to just the building structures but included facilities.
He disclosed that the project was with the support of the World Bank’s IMPACT Project, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and the state government.
“The upgrade includes restoring facilities with modern amenities, improving and equipping them to provide better maternal and child healthcare services.
“The renovation aims to reduce maternal, neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates by increasing access to quality healthcare.
“These efforts are part of Gov. Otu’s “People First” agenda, aimed at transforming the state’s health infrastructure and ensuring that every political ward in the state has a functional, well equipped health centre,” he explained.
Ayuk said that in addition to the renovation and upgrading of the 100 PHCs, secondary health facilities were also receiving attention.
He listed the general hospitals in Ikom, Ogoja, and Calabar as some of the secondary health facilities currently receiving attention.
The commissioner said that the administration had also taken steps to recruit health professionals, including doctors and nurses, who are being deployed to rural areas.
According to him, over 2,000 healthcare professionals, including 31 medical doctors and 150 nurses, have been engaged to strengthen health services across the state.
He said that as part of efforts to improve productivity and efficiency, the government also approved new welfare package for the medical workers.
“Beyond this engagement, we have also and the governor determined purposely to ensure that the right salaries are being paid.
“On assumption of office, the attrition of medical staff, medical doctors particularly, was so high because the disparity in salaries of medical doctors in the state service, and the federal government was so large.
“We are now paying them 100 per cent; if not more.
“In fact, at the end of the day, the salary that is earned by a medical doctor of the same level with his colleague in the teaching hospital, you get more working for the state,” the commissioner said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abdulfatai Beki/Bayo Sekoni
Source: NAN – https://nannews.ng/cross-river-upgrades-100-phcs-general-hospitals-to-improve-healthcare/
