By Magnus Emuji
ASABA/Nigeria: In a major boost to primary healthcare delivery, the Delta State Government has secured the enrolment of an additional 156 Public Healthcare Centres (PHCs) into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), bringing the total number of enrolled facilities in the state to 402.
The development was disclosed in Asaba by the Programme Manager for PHCs at the Delta State Healthcare Development Agency, Mr. Divine Azubuike, during the quarterly coordination meeting of the Alliance for Civil Society Organizations on Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN).
Azubuike explained that the newly enrolled PHCs have also been upgraded from Level 1.0 to Level 2.0, a move that significantly increases the volume of funds available to the facilities and enhances their capacity to deliver quality primary healthcare services to communities across the state.
He noted that the expansion aligns with the state government’s broader commitment to strengthening the healthcare system, particularly at the grassroots, where access to basic medical services remains critical.
In his welcome address, the State Chairman of ACOMIN, Pastor Gregory Sifo, urged members of the coalition, especially Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), to intensify their efforts to ensure that Delta State reclaims its leadership position in the implementation of ACOMIN-supported projects nationwide.
While commending the CBOs for the progress recorded so far, Sifo said it was encouraging that the state, which had underperformed during an earlier national appraisal, was already showing signs of significant improvement. He reminded participants that a core mandate of ACOMIN is to hold healthcare workers and institutions accountable to ensure improved service delivery at the primary healthcare level.
Also speaking, the State Programme Officer of ACOMIN, Sir Austin Uwede, said the State Advocacy Team had undertaken several advocacy visits to key stakeholders during the quarter under review to address challenges facing healthcare facilities.
Uwede disclosed that critical engagements were held with the Ministry of Health over the shortage of functional refrigerators for the storage of immunisation vaccines. He added that ACOMIN also interfaced with the Logistics Management Coordinating Unit of the Ministry to raise concerns about the shortage of routine drugs in PHCs across the state.
The ACOMIN State Programme Officer further revealed that the Private Sector Health Alliance Foundation, in collaboration with the Jim Ovia Foundation, has adopted one PHC in each of the state’s 25 local government areas. According to him, the facilities will be supported and managed for a period of five years before being handed back to the state government.
In separate goodwill messages, key stakeholders including the Malaria Programme Manager at the State Ministry of Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Julie Aniah; a representative of the Society for Family Health, Mrs. Mercy Momoh; the Chief Imam of Asaba Central Mosque, Dr. Adekola Yinusa; and Mrs. Grace Sifo of the State Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA), commended ACOMIN for its interventions and called for stronger collaboration to improve healthcare outcomes.
Dr. Aniah and Mrs. Momoh emphasised the need for sustained partnership with ACOMIN in the fight against malaria, while Dr. Adekola appealed for increased outreach by the Ministry of Health and ACOMIN within Muslim communities. Mrs. Sifo, on her part, appreciated ACOMIN’s role during the World HIV/AIDS Day activities and urged deeper collaboration going forward.
The meeting also featured presentations of success stories for the quarter by implementing CBOs, highlighting the impact of community-driven interventions in strengthening primary healthcare delivery across Delta State.
