By Wasiu Owolewa
Ekiti state government has debunked false claims on Primary Healthcare Facility in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health and Human service, Dr. Oyebanji Filani in a press statement personally signed by him described as false and outrageous the claim by Sahara Reporters that the immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, His Excellency, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi spent a whooping sum of 91 billion naira on PHC facility that is abandoned.
Filani stated further that the claimed amount(91 billion) by the online news publication was the total revised budget for the state in 2021. According to him, the facility is a community project carried out by former local government chairman and is not under the administration of the Ekiti State Primary Healthcare Development Agency(EKSPHCDA).
Part of the release reads, “Our attention has been drawn to an unfounded claim by Sahara Reporters that the immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, His Excellency, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, spent 91 billion naira on PHC facility that is “abandoned”. This amount(91bn) was the total revised budget for the state in 2021.
“Ekiti State Ministry of Health wishes to state clearly that this claim is outrageously false and intended to misinform the public. The facility is a community project carried out by former local government chairman and is not under the administration of the Ekiti State Primary Healthcare Development Agency(EKSPHCDA)
“The general public is invited to note the following:In line with the PHCUOR policy, the government of Ekiti State has established fully functional
PHCs in all 177 wards in Ekiti State, thereby bringing healthcare closer to our communities.
“In 2021, the State government procured brand new life-saving medical and distributed this across these primary healthcare centres. This is in addition to staff redistribution and our NYSC plus program, designed to increase availability of health workers in our facilities.
“Leveraging the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), the State government purchases an
explicit package of services which enables tens of thousands of pregnant women, under-five children and the elderly to access health services in these PHCs at no cost to them.
“To create awareness and drive demand for these services, signposts were erected in all 16 LGAs in the State, to display the package of services rendered in these fully functional PHCs.
The
health promotion department of the Ekiti State Ministry of Health also carries out periodic awareness programmes to further sensitise the people of Ekiti State.
“In addition to the work done in primary healthcare, the State government also-ran invested significantly in renovating 12 high-burden General Hospitals out of 22 in the State, equipped with modern facilities, to serve as referral centres to the PHCs. Our tertiary health facility was
also not left behind, with the renovation of the eye and dental care centres and the establishment of a new Intensive Care Unit.
“Beyond infrastructure, the impact of all these investments is evident in the State’s overall health performance and outcomes. Currently, Ekiti State has an immunisation coverage rate of 85% –
the highest coverage for routine immunisation (RI) in the Southwest and 4th highest in Nigeria.
The Commissioner further advised the general public to completely disregard the misleading information and apply caution when reading outrageous headlines intentionally crafted to create shock value.
“The public is hereby advised to completely disregard the misleading information and apply caution when reading outrageous headlines intentionally crafted to create shock value. We would like to state that reliable information on the State’s health sector can be obtained from the Ministry of Health and Human service through the office of Honourable Commissioner for Health.
“We encourage everyone to refrain from spreading false information that could create mistrust in the health system.”