Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, has said the Federal Government has released N14.3 billion to the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to upgrade the primary healthcare centres in the country.
He disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Ibadan shortly after one-day working visit he paid to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, last week.
Adewole explained that N420 million was released to each of the 36 states in the country and the FCT for the purpose from the N14,340,000,000, describing the fund as a seed money from the Federal Government to the state, which is geared towards revitalising the primary healthcare.
According to him, the gesture was aimed at reversing influx of people that need primary healthcare into tertiary hospitals, adding that the states that performed well would be given more money in the subsequent years.
Answering reporters’ questions on the working visit, Adewole, said the government has picked the UCH as one of the seven health facilities to be upgraded this year, adding that the hospital is in best position to reverse medical tourism.
Adewole had earlier commissioned the Total Quality Management Unit in the hospital and conducted round UCH by the Chief Medical Director of UCH, Prof Temitope Alonge, and principal staff of the hospital.
Adewole, who toured various departments in the hospital also visited the Kola Daisi Foundation (KDF) Centre for Primary and Community Health, and lauded the achievements of the centre in the past five years.
The government, Adewole said, would adopt the centre like the 110 centres already adopted by the Federal Government, saying by adopting it as a centre of excellence for the comprehensive primary healthcare in the country, the number of adopted centres would be 111 across the nation.
His words: “The Federal Government will adopt this facility as a model. We have already adopted 110 and this one will also be added.
“This model will be replicated throughout the country.”
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