Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, on Monday, gave N814 million to the 177 primary healthcare facilities in the state as investment funds for them to procure drugs, purchase equipment and carry out renovations, among others.
Oyebanji charged the facilities to develop work plans that would guide the use of the fund, saying, “It is important that these funds are used judiciously. Our focus must be to deploy these resources in a manner that is catalytic and complementary to existing programmes.”
The governor spoke in Ado Ekiti during the flag-off of the World Bank-supported Impact Project in Ekiti State, where he handed over N4.6 million in cheques to each of the 177 PHC facilities in the state, amounting to N814.2 million.
He said, “Out of the 36 states in the federation, only Ekiti State has secured approval from the World Bank to implement both components (malaria and immunisation-plus) of the Impact Project. This is proof of our readiness to seize all opportunities available to us to improve the health of Ekiti people, and an indication of the confidence our partners have in us, to deliver.
“Under this programme, 177 PHC facilities will each receive the sum of N4.6 million as a one-off investment fund. I expect facilities to use these funds to purchase drugs and consumables through our Drug Management Agency, carry out basic renovations, purchase equipment, and ensure that data management tools are available.
“The Impact Project represents a crucial step forward in our ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of the Ekiti people. The primary objective of this project is to reduce under-5 mortality.
“This aim is highly consistent with the state’s human capital development goals and complements other existing programmes such as Ulerawa (our flagship health insurance programme), the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, and the Impact Malaria project, all of which are aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality in the state,” he said.
The World Bank Country Director, Shubaham Chaudhuri, who reiterated the bank’s commitment to eliminating poverty and making life easier for Nigerians through affordable and quality healthcare services at the grassroots, said the project targeted making every parent and child in Ekiti have unhindered access to healthcare delivery in the 177 PHC facilities in their localities.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, lauded the efforts of the World Bank in the state’s health and other sectors, saying the project was in line with the Oyebanj-led administration’s agenda to invest more in the PHCs in the interest of the citizens.
