Group warns against commercialising health facilities in Ekiti

The Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition has warned against commercialising health facilities in Ekiti State.

The organisation, who spoke through Mr. Olu Ogunrotimi, Executive Director, Environmental Development and Family Health Organisation, gave the warning in Ado Ekiti, during an Advocacy Focused Media Meeting.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting was designed to create awareness of the COVID-19 Response Mechanism and the Resilience and Sustainable System for Health Grant.

The organisation expressed concern over the undue pressure being mounted on Primary Health facilities in Ekiti State by council chairmen to make money.

It describe the act as absurd and inimical to health care delivery at the grassroots and called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji to prevail on the council chairmen and LCDAs to stop such a barbaric step.

The organisation said some Local Government Chairmen in the State have commercialised PHCs in their Local Government Areas, thereby reducing patronage and access to health care.

ACOMIN said the major purpose of primary health facilities is to provide health care support to vulnerable persons at the grassroots and not a business centre.

It added that most of the services rendered at the facilities are sponsored by donour agencies, such as Immunisation, TB, and Malaria.

The Resilience and Sustainable System for Health Grant project is an initiative of the Global Fund aimed at mobilising communities and relevant stakeholders to support the government, towards equipping the health facilities with necessary materials that could enhance healthcare delivery as well as create better awareness of community involvement.

Ogunrotimi particularly called on the Ministry of Heath to convey a state dialogue between PHCs and Development Workers for a shared understanding of PHC roles.

He noted that the Resilience and Sustainable System for Health Grant project had yielded positive results as the Community Based Organisations in charge have been able to facilitate renovations of some health facilities across the state, employment of security guards to man them, and provision of drugs and the necessary equipment to support operations.

In his contribution, the Coordinator, TB Network in Ekiti State, Dr. Taiwo Benson called on the government to employ more nurses in the facilities, saying less than 80 nurses are available in all the primary health facilities across the state which he said was too poor.

Benson appealed to well-meaning individuals, corporate bodies, and institutions to support healthcare facilities in the state to enhance their service delivery.

Others who spoke appealed to communities to endeavour to patronise the primary health facilities in their areas and take ownership of the facilities to enable it to serve them better. 

(NAN)