Nasarawa state healthcare gets $500,000 boost

The Nasarawa State Government and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a $500,000 US dollar grant aimed at strengthening primary healthcare system in the state.

Mr Dana Hovig, Director of Integrated Delivery, at the foundation, while signing the agreement on Friday in Lafia, said the two years grant was to mainstream performance-based financing into the state’s primary healthcare system.

Hovig explained that the performance-based financing is a result based mechanism used to drive up performance of health systems by addressing the root causes of underperformance.

The gaps include inadequate health services, barrier to accessing quality care, poor governance and financial management practices.

He said that Nasarawa state government qualified for the grant, which was the first in the country based on its performance in the primary healthcare delivery, especially the implementation of the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy as well as the establishment of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA); the appropriate legislation to coordinate and manage PHCs in the state.

Hovig described the partnership agreement for the grant as a demonstration of the state government to be accountable and provide quality healthcare to the poor and vulnerable people in the state.

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He said the foundation was inspired by the gains the state government had made towards transforming primary healthcare.

“What we see in this strategic partnership between the state government and the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has the potential to save even more lives.

“We believe that Nasarawa state can maximise the gains already demonstrated from the performance-based financing approach to transform its PHC system in two years,” Hovig added.

Responding, Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa state, expressed gratitude to the foundation for the grant and pledged the commitment of his administration to provide quality healthcare to the people through good governance and accountability.

Al-Makura pledged that government would strictly adhere to the laid down guide for the implementation of the grant in terms of governance, performance management and financial management.

He said the government would work hard towards the sustainability of the project through an executive order to the state assembly that would be gazetted.

He said government would continue to partner with international donor agencies with a view to providing interventions that would improve the health of the people, especially rural dwellers.