By Habibu Harisu
Sokoto: The Sokoto State Government has renovated more than 180 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the 23 local government areas and deployed community midwives to reduce maternal mortality.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Mr Bilyaminu Yari-Sifawa, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Sokoto.
Yari-Sifawa some some facilities had also been equipped with solar power to improve healthcare delivery.
He said the government had deployed community midwives to primary healthcare centres to provide maternal care, particularly antenatal services and assistance during childbirth.
Yari-Sifawa added that recruitment of community health workers was in progress, with a computer-based test already conducted.
He said 244 health facilities were benefiting from direct facility financing, which enables them to procure drugs, carry out minor repairs and purchase basic equipment using allocated funds.
He explained that the state also supplied medicines through the Sokoto State Essential Medicines Agency and the Drug Revolving Fund.
Yari-Sifawa confirmed that Sokoto had recorded diphtheria cases but said infections had declined following government interventions, the provision of medicines and vaccines, and collaboration with development partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
He said the state had conducted a reactive vaccination campaign in metropolitan local government areas as part of efforts to contain the outbreak.
The acting secretary urged parents and caregivers to take their children to the nearest health facility for routine immunisation, stressing that vaccines against diseases such as polio, measles, tuberculosis and diphtheria were available free of charge to eligible children.
He highlighted that vaccines were distributed from the national level through state and local government cold-chain facilities to wards and communities.
He said solar-powered devices were also being used in some locations to preserve vaccine potency.
Yari-Sifawa acknowledged that some residents still rejected immunisation because of personal beliefs sometimes linked to religious and political concerns.
He said the agency was working with traditional and religious leaders, community groups and other stakeholders to address vaccine hesitancy through sensitisation campaigns, community meetings and radio programmes.
According to him, assessments of diphtheria cases in affected settlements revealed gaps in routine immunisation coverage, underscoring the need to strengthen vaccination services.
Yari-Sifawa commended development partners, particularly the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, Rotary International and the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development, for supporting the state’s health programmes.
He also called on communities to take ownership of renovated healthcare facilities, protect public equipment and ensure that government resources were used judiciously.
He said community representatives were involved in the management of funds allocated to health facilities to promote transparency and accountability.(NAN)
Edited by Yakubu Uba
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
