Oyo earmarks N1bn for primary health care delivery

The Oyo state government says it has earmarked N1 billion for the upgrade of all primary health centres across the state.

Governor Seyi Makinde made the disclosure on Monday during the flag -off of the Free Health Mission in Kishi, headquarters of Irepo Local Government Area of Oyo state.

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Gov. Makinde said that he has directed council chairmen to spend 7.5 per cent of their allocation on primary health care centres as a way of promoting good health care service delivery.

He asserted that the role of government is to steer the overall health care development, designing health care policies and programme, positing further that it is the duty of government to secure essential public health functions and regulating the delivery of health care services.

The governor stated that the decay in the health sector over the last few decades “have come to us as a recurring decimal which has to be confronted holistically and at all fronts.”

According to him, the upgrading the primary health care delivery would allow citizens of the state to have high standards of living while mortality and morbidity rate would be kept low.

He said health care service in the state is undergoing a lot of reformation and that the free health mission is aimed at the less privileged at the grassroots who don’t have money to access treatment.

However, Gov. Makinde said the exercise, which would be carried out across the local government areas for the benefits of the people, is not a remedy to the identified gaps in health care service delivery.

“But, it only serves as a stop-gap measure which will give the necessary time for other plans in the health sector to mature. Those with diabetes and high blood pressure will be treated and get free drugs,” he added.

Traditional ruler of Kishi, Oba Lawal Arowoduye, commended the governor for the free health care mission and urged him to sustain the good work.