Ebonyi Disburses N100m To Six Rural Private Hospitals

The  Ebonyi government has disbursed N100 million to six rural private hospitals.

This has brought the total monies disbursed to such hospitals to N1.3 billion since 2008.

The  fund is for the sustenance of the state government’s rural health programme.

Governor Martin Elechi, represented by Dr Sunday Nwangele, the Commissioner for Health, said the grant would enable the hospitals to provide quality healthcare to the rural dwellers.

The governor said that 18 per cent of the grant was a stabilisation fund while 50 per cent was allotted to the free maternal health services.

He said that 28 per cent was earmarked to support the payment of the monthly wages of staff while another four per cent was set aside for immunisation and disease control.

“The overall objectives of the grant are to bring adequate and quality healthcare closer to the rural and underserved communities, promotion of maternal and child health and to reduce the burden of morbidities and mortalities.

“The grant is also aimed at overcoming the challenges impairing availability and access to quality healthcare in the rural areas, effective implementation of all the government best practices, health policies and programmes,” he said.

He charged the hospitals to be prudent in the management of the funds and to be guided by the prescriptions of each tranche in the implementation.

“The grant is a privilege and not a right as the government, out of its numerous obligations, has considered rural health programme a priority way of serving the people,” he said.  Programme Manager of the Free Maternal Healthcare Programme Dr Boniface Onwe, in the state, listed the criteria for the disbursement of the funds to include equality of the hospitals/sustenance of funds and free maternal healthcare programme.

According to him, the criteria also include maintenance of manpower, promotion of child health and data generation and transmission for future planning.

A representative of the Nigerian Reformed Church Hospital, Dr Johnson Diara, thanked the state government for the gesture and promised to judiciously use the grants.