Kano State Government has committed to collaborate with Non-Government Organization, Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) for sustainable healthcare service delivery in the state.
The Director General of Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr. Nasir Mahmoud disclosed at the commissioning of the newly expanded ICU-ITFC at Unguwa Uku Primary Healthcare Center at Tarauni Local Government and the induction of 2023-2024 MSF Academy.
He said: “Since the outbreak of Diphtheria in Kano last year, the state has been battling the outbreak and working very closely with several organizations including MSF which supported by establishing Diphtheria Treatment Centres at IDH, Murtala Muhammad Hospital, and Waziri Gidado Hospital.”
“MSF has also renovated several PHCs which include, Unguwa Uku PHC in Tarauni Local Government, Tudun Fulani PHC in Kumbotso Local Government, Lawan Dambazau Clinic in Municipal Local Government, and Garangamawa facility in Gwale Gwale Local Government area.”
The DG commended MSF for the wonderful contribution and greater priority attention given to the health sector.
He also expressed satisfaction with the establishment of MSF Academy which he described as a unique opportunity for the State and the inductees to broaden their knowledge in the course of their nine-month intensive training to be conducted by MSF.
He further assured that the Kano State Government will take maximum advantage of and opportunity provided by MSF for adaptation.
The DG disclosed that preparation is in top gear by the Kano State Government to establish and overhaul the PHC sector as one functional PHC will be established at every ward of the 448 political wards in the state.
In his remark, the MSF Project Coordinator, Dr. Hussain Ismail highlighted some of the MSF interventions in the state.
He said: “Since the beginning of this year to September, MSF has general out patents department consultation of 50,759.
According to him, 20,304 or 40% of the consultations were children under 5 years.
“MCH Anti-Natal Consultation of 16,943, Post Natal Consultation is 3,503, while family planning recorded 1,714.
“MSF also conducted 1,937 deliveries under the MCH, while under the two nutrition programs run by the MSF which include, the ambulatory feeding center which is outpatient care for nutrition, and also an In-Patient Therapeutic feeding center which targets children with severe malnutrition.
“In the NTSC program, 16,683 consultations were conducted and 86% of these have been cured the cure is 86% and the mortality rate was less than 1%.
“In ITFC 1,353 admissions of severe malnutrition cases have been managed at the MSF facility.
“MSF also contributed to the upgrading of Unguwa Uku Laboratory which can run blood screening and transfusion which is not common in many Primary health care facilities in the state.
The Coordinator also highlighted some of the challenges facing the nutrition program under the Unguwa uku facility which runs full nutrition activities in the state and advocated for the centralization of the nutrition activity to be extended to all the PHC facilities so that patients who are traveling from the distance of 60 kilometers can access the nutrition services at the selected facilities to reduce the burden of distance covered by many patients to access the nutrition services offered by the MSF.
On the MSF Academy, Dr. Husssain said: “Three mentors who have graduated in the first group have been selected to support and supervise the new team that was enrolled in October.
“The second group will benefit from the second part of the MSF Academy team which will run for Nine months.”
He stressed that MSF is looking forward to having the MSF Academy program replicated through the support and cooperation of the Primary Healthcare Management Board to pave the way for the expansion of the program in such a way that, the Board will take the lead in terms of identifying facilities that require capacity building.
Dr. Hussain further stated that MSF will work hand-in-hand to support the program and expressed delight in the support of the state government since the commencement of the intervention in the state through the PHCMB.
He said MSF is looking forward to more support to meet the needs of the beneficiaries while working on a successful exit plan because MSF activities are based on a limited timeframe.
“During our presence in Kano State, we will look toward work hand-in-hand with Kano State Government to make sure we will have a successful excellent strategy for our program in the long term Plan,” he added.
Also speaking, the representative of the Hon. Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate who is also a Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Northwest, Malam Haruna Abubakr Bebeji expressed gratitude to MSF for their unwavering commitment to improving healthcare services in Kano state and the country at large.
He said the recent completion of the ICU-ITFC PHC facility at Unguwa Uku in the Tarauni Local Government area is a clear testament to the dedication and passion of the MSF in providing quality health care to those in need.
“The commissioned project is nothing but a gigantic achievement which embodies the spirit of collaboration for a shared vision for better health care,” he added.
Professor Pate said the Federal Ministry of Health has always sought to improve healthcare delivery in Nigeria and the project executed by MSF seamlessly complements this effort.
“Together we can enhance the quality and stability of healthcare services,” he added.
The projects executed by MSF according to the Minister will have an impact on the lives of the people, adding that, the projects will also provide critical care facilities that were previously unavailable, ensuring that, patients in need of intensive care will receive prompt and efficient treatment which will undeniably save lives and support the overall health infrastructure in the state.
He said by partnering with the current leadership of the KSPHMB, MSF has demonstrated that collaboration is the key to achieving sustainable change in the healthcare sector.
He called on other international NGOs and agencies to emulate MSF.
The Minister urged for community participation, especially in healthcare service delivery.
He also emphasized the need for the community and surrounding areas to take full advantage of the facilities and services provided by the ICU-ITFC for active engagement and full utilization to ensure the full impact of the project reaches its full potential.
In their separate remarks, the Chairman of Tarauni Local Government Council represented by the Vice Chairman, Hon, Nasir Shua’aibu, and the representative of the District Head of Tarauni, village head of Unguwa Uku, Malam Salihi Garba Abubakar commended MSF for executing the project in Tarauni.
They employ citizens of the area to ensure the protection and proper utilization of the facilities and services for the betterment of the entire people of the area.
The project commissioning and induction of the MSF Academy were performed by the Director General KSPHMB and other dignitaries.
(Fame News)
