By Chris Nyamtu
The Nasarawa State Programme Officer of the COVID-19 Response Mechanism Project, Mrs Patience Talla Samson, has urged governments at all levels to adopt sustainable local funding models to strengthen primary healthcare delivery, especially in rural communities.
She made the call during a media roundtable meeting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, aimed at presenting the status of interventions carried out under the COVID-19 Response Mechanism Project across five implementing local government areas.
Mrs Samson noted that the initiative , driven largely by community advocacy, has recorded significant progress, with many stakeholders, including traditional leaders and political actors, showing growing interest in supporting healthcare infrastructure around them.
According to her, community-led advocacy within the year has facilitated improved access to potable water, provision of essential equipment, and renovation of primary healthcare facilities in Nasarawa, Kokona, Wamba, Nasarawa e and Obi Local Government Areas.
She stressed, however, that despite these achievements, there is still a huge need for the government to invest more resources to ensure equitable healthcare access, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.
“We cannot continue to depend on foreign donors,” she said. “If we want to get it right in the health sector, the government must step up its commitment by sourcing funds locally and upgrading primary health facilities for quality service delivery.”
Also speaking, the State Coordinator of the Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), represented by the Secretary, Mrs. Ruth Dauda, highlighted the need to prioritise vulnerable groups , especially people living with HIV, persons with tuberculosis, and children affected by malaria.
She emphasised that strengthening grassroots health systems requires collaborative efforts, noting that the government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility.
Stakeholders at the meeting, including community-based organisation leaders such as Tuberculosis State Coordinator Mr. Jonah Aboki, Alhaji Musa Mohammed from the JNI and Hajiya Safiya Ibrahim Yahuza from NASACA; described the project’s implementation as a beacon of hope for rural healthcare. They, however, called on policymakers to scale up interventions to achieve lasting transformation.
In a goodwill remark, the representative of the Director of Public Health at the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health, Mr. Timothy Bawa, commended NEPWHAN and the leaders of community-based organisations for their resilience in ensuring the effective implementation of the project in the state.
He stressed that efforts to revitalise the health sector require collective action and assured the ministry’s continuous support to ensure that the project achieves its target objectives. ( Radio Nigeria)