Taraba Govt Pledges To Strengthen Primary Health Care Services
By Kabiru
The Taraba state Government says it will continue to strengthen the Primary Healthcare Services for the benefit of the people.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr Emmanuel Hassan Lawson who is overseeing the office of the Deputy Governor, disclosed this while interacting with the Management staff of the Taraba State Primary Healthcare Development Agency at the Conference Hall of the Deputy Governor’s office in Jalingo.
Management Staff of the Taraba State Primary Healthcare Development Agency were at the office for the quarterly review meeting to look at the success recorded, challenges and chart a common course that will properly identify same with a view to proffer solutions for continuous development.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor while presiding over the meeting, assured of the Government’s commitments in strengthening the health care system at the primary level.
He therefore asked the management to draw a line on the roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Health and that of the office of the Deputy Governor for onward transmission to the Office of the Governor for necessary action.
He commended the management of the agency for what he described as their sacrifices and services to humanity.
The Executive Secretary, Taraba State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Tukura Nuhu Nigwah had earlier highlighted the achievements recorded within the period under review, including several successes in coordinating primary healthcare activities at the local Government levels, which he described as highly successful.
According to him, there are Nine Hundred and Fifty Seven functional health care facilities across the state, with various achievements with various national immunization campaigns.
Based on the support from the Taraba State Government, the Agency’s performance was rated high amongst the various states across the country.
One hundred and thirteen health care centers are being upgraded, saying there are still challenges of inadequate personnel, lack of payment of counterpart funding by the previous governments, which is limiting the presence of partners.
He also identified lack of running costs, human resources and funding which are factors militating against the smooth operations of the agency.
He commended the state Government for the attention it has been given to the sector and called for more support to enable the agency function maximally.
The Director, Planning, Research and Statistics of the Agency, Dr Ubanus Ezekiel also spoke on the partner’s staff that are working on casual basis whom he said are in need of support.
