The Oyo State Government has appealed to residents to exercise more patience as work continues on the renovation and upgrade of selected Primary Health Care (PHC) centers across the state.
The Chairman of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, made this appeal during a courtesy visit from the executive members of the Primary Health and Health Management Centre (PriHEMAC).
While addressing concerns regarding the state of PHCs within the Ibadan metropolis—specifically the Moniya PHC—Dr. Olatunji disclosed that the state government has decided to rebuild and expand the facility rather than carry out a simple renovation. He added that work will begin in earnest at the site next week.
He added that, from next week, they will be going back to the field to do the scoping and also to re-assess them for the project at hand.
“The plan is to rebuild and expand it further, providing the facility with modern amenities such as solar power banks and generators while maintaining a connection to the national grid,” Dr. Olatunji stated.
He further revealed that over 250 PHCs (out of the planned “one per ward” program) have already been upgraded to standard conditions. The remaining 100+ hefacilities are currently undergoing work to bring them up to Level 2 PHC requirements.
“ we set out to renovate 351 facilities at least, one per ward. Fortunately, Moneya PHC is one for that ward, and that’s ward 5. We’re supposed to have renovated it, but that project has not stopped. So we are still going on with the renovation. So this week, from next week, we will be going back to the field to do the scoping. Also to re-assess them for the project at hand.So the plan is to rebuild that, expand it more than it is. So provide with other, recent amenities, be it solar power banks, generating sites, and at the same time maintaining the national grid. And that’s what we are doing across the 30 local government areas. We have not completed the few facilities to make up one per ward. So you appeal to residents who have been… Yes, just to be patient with us. It’s just a journey” he said
During the visit, the Executive Director of the Primary Health and Health Management Centre, Dr. Martins Olusola Ogundeni, emphasized his organization’s commitment to assisting the government in implementing critical health activities, including immunization and maternal health services.
Dr. Ogundeni noted that the visit served to brief the Board on findings from various PHCs across the state. these findings were gathered by the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWA) and supported by the Global Fund, focusing on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
“Our officers have been working across seven local government areas in Oyo State,” Dr. Ogundeni explained. “We are sharing these findings so the Executive Secretary can provide the necessary governmental attention to the defects observed in these primary centers.” he said,
Reviewing the NGO’s achievements over the last nine years, Dr. Ogundeni highlighted a significant reduction in maternal mortality in the state, largely attributed to the Ibadan Maternal Mortality Reduction Project, which was funded by a Finnish NGO.
