KDSG approves N1b contract to equip 255 PHCs, 23 hospitals in Kaduna

0
452

KDSG approves N1b contract to equip 255 PHCs, 23 hospitals in Kaduna
By; Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir, Kaduna.
Kaduna State Executive Council has approved a contract for the GE to equip and modernize 255 primary healthcare centres and 23 comprehensive healthcare centres in the state at the cost of N1bn.
The state Executive Council approved the contract at its last meeting, describing this project as a vital aspect of the government’s agenda to expand access to healthcare and to improve the facilities, equipment and staffing of the health delivery system at the grassroots.
According to a statement by Samuel Aruwan, Special Assistant to Governor Naisr Ahmad El-Rufai on Media and Publicity, the state cabinet has also decided to establish genotype testing facilities in five public hospitals.
He said Professor Andrew Jonathan Nok, the Commissioner of Health, announced the approval of the healthcare contracts at a press briefing. Nok said that Kaduna State “is delighted to bring a company with the worldwide renown of GE to upgrade its primary healthcare facilities in a way that ensures that each of the 255 wards in the state has an apex PHC to which community health posts, dispensaries and clinics can make referrals.”
GE will equip all the 255 PHCs with facilities for antenatal and obstetric screening, including hand-held scanners. The contract will also provide materials essential for the care of newborns, such as warmers, mask and resuscitation equipment.
The Commissioner said that the contract will further equip 23 comprehensive health centres, one in each local government, with capabilities for surgical care and cardiovascular screening and anesthesia care.
The GE contract is designed as the first phase of a process that aims to modernise all the health centres in the state. Prof. Nok said that the current government is determined to improve the dismal health indices which it inherited.
“This government has a priority to improve the standard of health services delivered to the citizens of the state. We are intervening to address issues with maternal and new-born child health and to improve diagnosis and management of non-communicable diseases through cardiovascular screening.”
Prof. Nok disclosed that the Council also approved the procurement of equipment to help in the early diagnosis of Sickle Cell Disorder which accounts for 6% of childhood mortality in Nigeria. The government will install thermocycler laboratory equipment in five hospitals, including Barau Dikko Hospital, General Hospital Kafanchan, Gambo Sawaba Hospital Zaria, Yusufu Dan Tsoho Hospital Kaduna and the General Hospital Saminaka.
These new laboratory equipments will provide genotype testing facilities, offer counseling services and determine the genotype of babies while still in their mothers’ wombs. Prof. Nok said that this “programme will place Kaduna State as the first and only state in the country with parental diagnostic health set-up, and will enable state hospitals to determine a child’s genotype before it is born.
“These initiatives provide practical demonstration of our commitment to the programmes outlined in the APC’s manifesto. The Kaduna State Government is strengthening the capacity and skill levels of healthcare professionals in a deliberate effort to ensure that its citizens access better healthcare outcomes.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here