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By Akanji Alowolodu, Gombe
Gombe State government has been called to as a matter of urgency provide adequate manpower to meet the standard of World Health Organization (WHO) in the management and treatment of the novel COVID-19 pandemic.
The call was made by a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Follow the Money Initiative during a town hall meeting organized on COVID-19 response held at Kumbiyakumbiya PHC, Gombe on Tuesday.
Gombe state Lead of Follow the Money Initiative, Malama Hadiza Usman, Gombe State Lead, lamented that most of the health care centres in the state could not meet the requirements set by the WHO which recommended that each facility should have two Nurses, Midwives and a Doctor for administration of the COVID-19 vaccines.
The coordinator also said that in Gombe state, there are no Doctors, Nurses and Midwives at the six PHCs identified in the three senatorial districts for sampling saying that the organization visited Kalargu, Kentengeteng in Gombe South, Bojude and Kumbiyakumbiya in Gombe North and Deba and Kwadon in Central.
Hadiza Usman also observed that most residents of the communities where the facilities were located have not benefited from the vaccines administration due to lack of proper sensitization instead, the beneficiaries are from other places.
She added that each of the primary health care centres was allocated 290 doses of COVID-19 vaccines but due to lack of functional storage facilities at the PHCs they kept the vaccines somewhere stressing that the vaccines were supposed to be kept at the PHCs not outside the PHCs because the need to use it may arise anytime.
She further said that accessing accurate data from the Primary Health Facilities was their major constraint as the department is hindering having data to back up any claim they may want to make from the donor agencies.
While reacting to the organisation’s findings, Director Research and Statistics, Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mr Felix Gambo, expressed dissatisfaction with the issues raised by the organisation saying that it is not true.
Felix Gambo explained that the 114 PHCs in Gombe have at least moved to the next level because the present administration in the state has equipped the PHCs and they are providing optimum services to the public.
He said that the Agency has adequate staffing although not Doctors but Community Health Extension Workers at the various primary health facilities who he said are working as expected.
He however advised the organization to go back and synchronized its findings because the data and figures given to them by the persons that conducted the survey were not accurate and said, “if you need accurate data and information do not hesitate to come to the Primary Health Care Agency.”
Follow the Money Initiative is a participatory advocacy-based initiative that seeks proper use of government and international aid funds at the grassroots.
