IMPACT project to transform 102 health centres in Ondo
By Kemi Olatunde
One hundred and two health centres will benefit in the first phase of the Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT Project) aimed at achieving Primary Health Care (PHC) revitalisation in Ondo State.
The Project Manager of the IMPACT Project (Immunisation Plus) and Director of Medical Services at the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency (OSPHCDA), Dr. Paulinus Omode, disclosed this while delivering a lecture on “PHC Revitalisation and Digitalisation: Enablers to Improving Health Care Delivery and Promoting Government Agenda on Health in Ondo State” during a recent event on the IMPACT Project in Akure.
According to him, Nigeria faces significant challenges with its PHC system, noting that many PHCs are either non-functional or operate below optimal levels.
While stating that only 40 percent of Nigerians have access to quality PHC services, he explained that the burden of exorbitant out-of-pocket health care expenses further exacerbates poverty in the country.
He described the revitalisation of PHC facilities as a crucial enabler in improving health care service delivery and ensuring universal health coverage.
He stated that the project, which has been active in the state for five months, has supported the government’s health agenda in areas such as Our Ease (the new policy blueprint), efficient health care and social welfare, structural and infrastructural upgrades of health facilities, employment of health workers, improved health care quality, strengthening and expansion of health insurance coverage, as well as the availability of essential and quality drugs and health commodities.
He explained that the state government, with the assistance of IMPACT, has procured 216 new laptops for the 203 facilities and 13 local government areas that previously lacked functional laptops, in a bid to encourage the digitalisation of PHC activities.
With the project in place, Omode assured of a resilient PHC system, adding that it would attract and retain trained health care personnel through better working conditions