The team, shortly after meeting with the State Governor, Dikko Radda, also assured readiness to assist the State Government to achieve its goal of ensuring universal healthcare coverage.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) on Friday pledged to support the Katsina State Government in efforts to improve its healthcare delivery.

Their assurance is coming barely nine days after the state chapter of the National Medical Association (NMA) expressed concern over poor working conditions alongside chronic manpower shortage, poor remuneration, and other welfare packages for doctors in the state-owned medical facilities.

The team, shortly after meeting with the State Governor, Dikko Radda, also assured readiness to assist the State Government to achieve its goal of ensuring universal healthcare coverage.

In particular, the WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, pledged to go through the need assessment for the health report handed over to them by the state governor and act promptly.

He, therefore, promised to assist the government and teeming residents of the State to end the polio virus alongside the circulation of all forms of polio in efforts to improve routine immunization and coverage to achieve major targets in them.

“We came to pay a courtesy call to the governor and take the opportunity of his administration to reflect the bit from the far end in the State, the needs and challenges, and how we can better support the State government to achieve its goal towards ensuring that universal coverage is reality and we are really pleased to learn about his focus to prioritize the poor, the most vulnerable communities as the beneficiary for health.

“The governor has handed over to us the need assessment for health. We will go through the report and we should be able to identify the most agent in need.

“We are with the people of Katsina State to help them end polio or the circulation of all forms of polio to improve routine immunization and coverage to achieve the major target in them in health to help more human resource for health while distributing all health facilities in all the wards of the state so that everybody could access the health services they need within the reach of where they stay,” he added.

On his part, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shu’aib, highlighted the significance of investment in primary healthcare.

He believed that investing in primary healthcare is enhancing opportunities to access care and actually fuel economic growth, increase productivity, and foster social stability.

Dr. Shu’aib while reacting to the state of the primary healthcare in the State, observed that there is a huge gap and shortage of human resources which he said is not peculiar to Katsina State but also across the country.

“Our mission in Katsina today is to advocate for primary healthcare. By advocating for primary health care, we stand on a solid footing because in advocating, we are bringing to Katsina State the opportunity to collaborate. When you invest in primary health care, you actually invest in the future.

“When you are able to set up a robust primary health care system, then it helps that state to really strengthen its health system from the foundation.

‘In investing in primary health care, what you are actually doing is enhancing opportunities to access care what you could leave and walk.

“It’s able to actually fuel economic growth, increase productivity and foster social stability.

“When you have a solid primary health care system, there will be a reduction in the burden to secondary and tertiary health facilities so they are able to focus more on more complex medical cases.

“So, by advocating for primary health care, we are here to collaborate with the state and bearing in mind that, we do have an outbreak of Daptheria and we are working together with the state to control this outbreak and also an outbreak of circulating variant poliovirus.

“We have seen great work that has been done in the State under the leadership of the state governor Dikko Radda,” Shu’aib explained.

Culled from Channels tv