FCT Budgets Over N800m for Primary Healthcare Delivery

FCT Budgets Over N800m for Primary Healthcare Delivery

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has revealed that the administration had provided more than N800 million for Primary Health Care leadership, governance and infrastructure upgrade in the 2020 budget as part of measures to strengthen the Primary Health Care.

Aliyu made this revelation on yesterday during the flag off of the National Integrated Mobile Outreach Programme (I-MOP) by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

Aliyu said that other items covered by the 2020 budget include N500 million provision for reproductive health, integrated management of childhood illnesses and nutrition; N600 million for human resources for health while more than N700 million was earmarked for essential medicines, immunisation, vaccines and technology.

She gave the sources of the funding to include the FCT Appropriation Act 2020, the Saving One Million Lives Programme for Results and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

The minister also stated that the reinvigorated FCT Health Insurance Scheme, had placed the administration on the path of achieving the Universal Health Coverage, stressing that the administration has taken the challenge of providing to residents, particularly women and children in most need, good quality, high impact primary health care services that included immunisation and nutrition activities.

Aliyu said: “Recently, a total N37,293,000 was disbursed to 62 PHC facilities with each PHC facility per ward in the FCT receiving a total N601,500 in the Direct Facility Funding under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).”

She affirmed that despite challenges facing the primary healthcare sector, specific findings in the report of the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey (2018 NDHS), showed that the FCT performed well and better than most states in the North-central zone with some figures better than the zonal and national averages.

According to her: “In coverage of fully immunised children, FCT recorded 49.6 percent, which is above the national average of 31 percent; Modern Family Planning Prevalence at 20 percent against national average of 12 percent; Attendance at Ante Natal Care 88 percent against national average of 67 percent; Skilled birth attendance in the facility at 63 percent against national average of 39 percent.”

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