The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has rated Niger State as the best in the country in the area of Primary Health Care services following its proactive role in building and equipping emergency operations centres (EOCs).
Making this recommendation when he paid a working visit to Niger state on Tuesday, the Executive Secretary, NPHCDA, Dr Muyu Aina said Niger state is the first across the country to have a Ministry of Primary Health Care and upgrading level 1 PHCs to level 2.
Accordingly, he said “As the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), we are very impressed and excited in partnering with Niger state in the delivery of health care services. What I see today is very inspiring and I have also learnt a lot.
“Despite the landmass, the difficult terrain and other challenges faced by the state, what I saw on ground has validated what we know of the Governor Umaru Bago-led government as a trailblazer in the area of primary health care.
“For creating a Ministry of Primary Health Care is even a testament to the priority placed in the area of health care delivery. The EOC that we have seen now typically, the federal government would facilitate partners to provide EOCs and then handover to the state but what we are seeing today is that Niger state has done it and even bigger than we would have done.”
He added that, “Niger state is investing in the revitalisation of Primary Health Care and collaborating with us in the area of training of health workers and in other areas. I am very impressed and I want to congratulate the state government.”
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, the Commissioner for the Ministry of Primary Health Care, Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed Dangana commended the ES for sourcing resources to support PHCs interventions in the state.
While disclosing that Niger state has begun the upgrading and remodelling of one hundred PHCs across the state, Dr Dangana assured the Executive Secretary that, the state is ready to support the NPHCDA in federally coordinated policies and strategies for the improvement of PHCs in Nigeria.
