Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun has reiterated his administration’s commitment to repositioning the state’s primary healthcare system to enable residents enjoy adequate service delivery.
Abiodun, while arguing that primary care is the first step towards universal health coverage, noted that his administration had recorded a milestone achievement of changing the narrative of poor health delivery in the state.
The governor stated this on Tuesday, at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Meeting and Scientific conference, of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) held in Abeokuta the state capital.
Speaking at the conference themed, “Primary Healthcare Delivery in the Face of Multidimensional Challenges”, the governor, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, noted that State’s Primary Health Centres (PHCs) have undergone renovations, and is still making further improvements.
His words, “In Ogun State, we are committed to repositioning our primary health care as a foundation for an Effective and resilient health care system. We recognize that primary health care is the gateway to achieving universal health coverage.
“We, however, acknowledge the challenges that persist. The funding constraint, inadequate human resources, and socioeconomic disparities which pose a threat to the public health efforts that are being made members of the Public Health Association.
“However, a forum provides an opportunity for robust discussion, innovative solutions and actualable policies that will help us navigate as a state, this challenges effectively”.
Speaking earlier, the national president of APHPN, Alphonsus Isara, stated that the country is facing a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and in order to solve these issues, actors in the healthcare delivery system must revert to the grassroots.
Isara, however, called for the effective implementation of Primary Health Care systems to tackle the growing psychological and mental health issues among Nigerians.
In his remarks, the state chairman of the association, Dr Adewale Adesanya, bemoaned the shortage of medical professionals in the nation’s healthcare system, saying that the government must do better at both hiring and providing for the welfare of its workforce.
He said, “There is a shortage of health manpower. Nigeria is facing this serous problem of Japa. We just need to improve not just the number of medical personnel but also their welfare so that so that this Japa issue can reduce.
“Also, the government needs to improve the economy and value of our currency, then people will not be leaving the country.”