Health Of The State

The Rivers State Government has since the Governor Amaechi-led administration, taken healthcare delivery a notch higher than its predecessors.

The healthcare policies of the State have been expanded to make healthcare delivery accessible to and affordable by all residents of the State since the last one year of Governor Amaechi’s second term in office.

Whereas the State operated free medical service to children of six years and below and adults of 60 years and above in his first tenure, the programme is now open to all residents of the State who can show prove of residency and tax payments. Under this scheme, residents, irrespective of whether they are indigenes or not could register and enjoy the services without any hitches.

Also, of the 160 Primary Health Centres that the administration promised as provide in the State, 118 have been completed and inuse after the first 60 were commissioned in the governor’s first tenure.

According to the Director Public Health, of the State ministry of Health, Akuro Okujagu, each of the healthcentres have one doctor with the health centres in high density areas having two or three as the case may be.

Under the Amaechi-led administration, the emergency response service called the Emergency Medical Service has also being given a boost since the last one year. The EMS comprises of ambulances which are centralized with the base at Braithwaite Memorial Special Hospital (BMSH) while the ambulances are located at specific points across the State which when a call is put through to the base an ambulance closest to the victim is dispatched.

The State has also put marine ambulances at strategic positions across the riverine areas to cover the difficult to reach places to deliver quality and affordable healthcare to the people.

During the recent outbreak of lassa fever, the State rapidly put together 20 member rapid response team to sensitise and educate the public on the dangers the situation posed.

The State also sponsored and equipped a ward at UPTH to secure victims of the lassa rats. Also equipment and personal protection equipment were bought for health workers to wear as well as vehicles.

In its bid to eliminate mosquito from the State, serious interventions against the vector has intensified where the State concluded in collaboration with Cuban authority plans to build a bio-larvicidal factory where the larvicide could be produced to destroy mosquitoes.

The State was embarked on aerial spraying and the distribution of long lasting insecticidal nets and billions of bottles of bio-larvicides to kill the vector larval stage.

In all the Rivers State Health Sector, has witnessed revolutionary changes since the advent of the government of His Excellency Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi in October 2007.

Vision of The Amaechi Government

The State Government under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has adopted a system of health-care whose thrust is anchored on Primary Care with the following specific objectives:

Provision of quality and standard health facilities, provision of efficient, effective and affordable health services, availability of well qualified and motivated staff at all health facilities, provision of health services to vulnerable groups at government cost, co-ordinated State Health Plan supported by appropriate budgetary allocation, in order to ensure that any health policy adopted is implemented, the State has made adequate budgetary provision for health.

Strategies for Implementation of Vision

In order to implement the vision of Government, the following strategies were adopted, Health Summit for all Stakeholders in health was held on 5th & 6th February 2008, Governor Chibuike Amaechi held meeting with Doctors in the State on the way forward in the health sector. So far, three other such meetings have been held during the period under review, Health Insurance Conference to determine the best option in its implementation (27th & 28th May 2008), budgetary allocation to Health meeting WHO standard for the first time in the history of the State, adoption of Public-Private Partnership in health resulting the several projects being carried out simultaneously for the first time in the State.

These strategies yielded results, some of which are tabulated below as follows:

To ensure proper service integration among all levels of health care through the establishment of a Primary Health Care Board, Manpower development programme should be put in place, Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) is accepted and workable especially in areas of scarcity and deficiencies. Government should commit to the funding and implementation of all aspects of PPP in health on a continuous basis, there should be sustained maintenance culture of all infrastructure and equipment, Infrastructural Development for health, development of a Co-ordinated State wide Health Plan, government should take responsibility for the health of the vulnerable in the society.

As a result, the following steps have been taken.

Re-orientation workshop for Heads of health establishments (Ministry, Hospitals, health units in LGA) held from 4th – 8th August 2008 as a first step, re-training of all categories of staff is being planned, recruitment of Staff to address the severe manpower shortages is ongoing, Construction of Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte Mega Hospital at a site within the Greater Port Harcourt is being undertaken at the cost of $150million on a PPP basis, maintenance contracts are being instituted for different equipment in the Hospitals, government has embarked on massive infrastructural development especially Primary Health Centres and Hospitals.

Other Strategies Employed for Implementation of Vision include:

Employment of doctors, nurses and other health workers to man the primary health centres, provision of Social Insurance through the Free Medical Care Programme and overseas treatment programme, expansion of Emergency Medical Services with the provision of a Base Station and call center with emergency telephone services to cater for all emergencies, strengthening of existing special programmes as follows:

Creation of the State Agency on HIV/AIDS, presentation of Executive Bill on the establishment of Primary Health Care Development Board, World Bank supported Malaria Control Booster Project.

Integrated Mother, Neonatal & Child Health (IMNCH) strategy inaugurated in partnership with the Institute of Child Health in UNIPORT), constitution of Task Force on Health and Allied Health Institutions, establishment of a Reference Medical Laboratory in BMSH, provision of Standard accommodation for Medical Interns, re-accreditation of the Department of Family Medicine for post-graduate training, an Auto-disabled Syringe factory, which will also manufacture intravenous fluids has been completed and commissioned with technical partnership from Pan African Health Foundation. The factory shall be expanded in the next few years to serve the total syringe needs of the country and West   Africa.

Tonye Nria-Dappa