An interactive meeting between the newly created Niger State Ministry of Primary Health Care and the 25 local government directors of primary health departments has been held in Minna, the Niger State capital.
The meeting, which focused on seeking ways for collaborative synergy between the ministry of primary health care and departments of health in all the local governments in the state, was aimed at strengthening mechanisms for the management of funds and the administration of health services at the local government level.
Declaring the meeting open in the conference room of the ministry yesterday, the Commissioner for Primary Health Care, Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed Dangana, said his ministry has the mandate to deliver excellent, qualitative, accessible, and affordable health care services at community levels.
He said that to achieve these goals and ensure effective implementation of PHC activities in the state, the ministry intends to work closely with local government health authorities and to meet regularly to plan and review progress.
The commissioner then called on the directors of primary health care services of the local governments to key into the New Niger agenda of the present administration, which seeks to attract massive investment in healthcare services to improve health and attract medical tourism to the state.
Dr. Dangana further revealed that the ministry was the first of its kind in the history of Niger State and in the federation, expressing gratitude to the governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, for his foresight in creating the ministry. He then called on the directors to reciprocate the gesture by taking their responsibilities seriously.
He then announced the distribution of funds to all the primary health care centres in the state from the basic health care provision fund to assist in the day-to-day administration of health care centres in the state.
Some of the PHC directors who spoke to newsmen expressed their readiness to work closely with the new ministry to achieve efficient and quality health care services in the state.
The interactive meeting will be held quarterly to assess the impact of policies and programmes and review progress made, including peer review of progress amongst local government health care services, as stated by the commissioner.