Bayelsa Inaugurates Primary Healthcare Board

The Bayelsa State Government recently inaugurated a Primary Health Care Board (PHCB) for the state. The board was birthed as part of measures and strategies to fight maternal and infant mortality in Bayelsa.

In a brief ceremony, the Deputy Governor of the state, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd.), led other government officials including the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson to open the official complex of the board.

The complex is located opposite the Ministry of Works and Infrastructures in Yenagoa, the state capital. Jonah said the board would coordinate the activities of issues at the grassroots would be tacked by the board.

He lamented that Nigeria as a country has not done well in primary healthcare delivery. He said:  “When we get peer group review of contemporary countries, even in the West African subregion, some other countries fare better than us.

“In the case of Bayelsa, I think the performance has been abysmal, that is why the Governor, Seriake Dickson, came very strongly, on how we can redress it at the shortest possible time.

“We have started; a board has been inaugurated, which is the requirement. Of course, there must be a central area for the management of the activities.

“We have always been complaining that the health care workers at the local government areas have not been performing very well.

“We know that they were not going to work regularly  but if you see the salary bill of the LGAs, the health care workers take  a large chunk and we are happy that now, they will be supervised by line officers, people who have practised the trade before their coming, we expect that output will be far better than what it had been before.

“So, it is a requirement at the national level, I think we have conformed with the national requirement. By conforming, it is expected that we will be attracting some assistance as well to make sure that the effort is worthwhile.”

In her remarks, the Chairperson of the board, Dr. Victoria Denenu, said the board even before inauguration of the office complex has been working to address the problems in primary healthcare delivery. For instance, she said the board in conjunction with the state government, the Ministry of Health, organised the first state infant/maternal mortality and safe motherhood summit in July.

She said the board set up modalities for the registration of all pregnant women in all the eight local government areas of the state and to carry out advocacy visits, sensitisation and payment of allowances to all pregnant women in the state to ensure safe delivery and zero level infant and maternal death rate in the state.

Denenu added that the board had two visits from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHDA). She said the state’s score went up from five per cent to 45 per cent.

She said: “The board has held 11 board meetings to ensure the successful take off of the state PHCB. As per the law establishing the BYUPHCB 2018 Section 58 page 30, we are working with the Ministry of the Local Government Administration and the state Local Government Service Commission to ensure the transfer or secondment of all critical healthcare staff of the Ministry of Health, MLG and LGC, including their emoluments to the board.

“Bayelsa State being one of the last states in the nation to inaugurate the state Primary Health Care Board is working in collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure the full implementation of the ‘Primary Health Care Under One Roof’, a policy by the Federal Government to bring all PHC services under one authority for both management, one plan, one monitoring and evaluation system to reduce fragmentation of PHC management and service delivery, backed by the National Health Act of 2014.”

Denenu, while thanking the state government for providing the office complex, also appealed to the government that the board required a bigger office accommodation to accommodate all their departments and donor agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, among others.