Goddy Egene
Access Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Zenith Bank Plc, Dangote Group, MTN Nigerian Communications Plc are backing an initiative by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede in collaboration with the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) geared towards significantly improving Nigeria’s healthcare system at the grassroots level.
Other notable development-focused organisations that will actively participate in the project are: Global Citizen, ABCHealth, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, World Bank, International Finance Corporation, PwC, Cisco, Ford Foundation, Nigerian Stock Exchange, and Flying Doctors Nigeria.
The innovative strategy, in furtherance of a vision from an earlier stakeholders’ roundtable, entails delivering one Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in each of Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) at global standards.
Under this private sector driven initiative, universal health access will be provided for low-income citizens residing in rural and urban areas through the Adopt-a-Health Facility Programme (ADHFP).
According to a statement issued by the Chief Executive Officer of PSHAN, Mr. Sonny Nwarisi, ADHFP, will be sponsored by a group of angel investors and other institutions.
These investors will each take responsibility for one or more PHCs and will build and operate the PHCs for the period of adoption under strict rules and guidelines.
He said the ADHFP is a multi-impact initiative with several benefits including: saving lives, improvement in health outcomes, job creation, and gender empowerment
Aig-Imoukhuede and PSHAN recently initiated the ADHFP design phase which will be handled by Vesta Healthcare Partners, a global healthcare consultancy firm.
This consultancy engagement is expected to deliver key programme components such as: legal and regulatory framework, public-private partnership framework, PHC facility and management standards, financing arrangements, governance arrangements, supply chain management, and technology and systems.
