…Gombe sets to revitalize 1 PHC in each of 114 wards
Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa has approved the release of
N605 million to the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP), through the Gombe state Primary Healthcare Development Agency to enable it scale up its intervention of ensuring at least 1 fully functional Primary health care facility in the 5 Local Government Areas of Kaltungo, Nafada, Shongom, Funakaye and Kwami.
It may be recalled that NSHIPin collaboration with Gombe state Government successfully revitalized 85 PHCs in the other 6 LGAs of Akko, Balanga, Gombe, Billiri, Dukku and Yamaltu Deba through the Performance Based Financing (PBF) approach.
The focus of the intervention includes: renovation of the infrastructure, provision of basic equipment and drugs, enhanced health worker motivation through the payment of performance bonuses to the staff and strengthening institutional management at both health facilities and the Local Government Health Authorities.
This intervention will ensure that every ward has atleast 1 fully fucntional Primary healthcare centre with all the necessary basic tools to provide the basic minimum package of care to the people 24 hours a day.
The revitalization process is expected to be completed by end of June 2020. When completed, it will make Gombe to be the first in the country to successfully revitalize 1 PHC in every ward of its state inline with Mr President’s desire.
The approval of this counterpart funding for NSHIP is an unprecedented move, where a state is using domestic resources to fund a Performance Based Financing (PBF) programme.
The Governor had earlier during a meeting with a World Bank delegation jointly led by task team leaders, Mr. Gyuri Fritche and Fatima Abubakar Mustapha, pushed for the scaling up of the project to the remaining 5 LGA’s so that the entire populace will enjoy the benefit therein, following which the two parties agreed to escalade it on a 40%/ 60% basis with Gombe providing N605 Million while the World Bank provides the balance of 1.5m dollars from the International Development Association, IDA resources for the NSHIP project allocated to the state.
The Nigeria PBF programme started in 2011 with 3 States of Adamawa, Ondo and Nasarawa. It was scaled up in 2015 to all the remaining 5 States of North East following the Boko Haram insurgency in the region. By the design of the additional Financing for the project, the states of Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba are to cover only 50% of their LGA’s while Borno and Yobe cover 100% of their LGA’s.
