Stakeholders seek more funding in Anambra State health sector

 

 
By Okechukwu Onuegbu

Stakeholders in Anambra State have urged the Governor Chukwuma Soludo's administration to provide more fundings and other interventions for improved healthcare deliveries across the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).

They made the call at an engagement meeting on funding of primary healthcare held in Awka by the Civil Rights Concern (CRC) in partnership with Community Empowerment Network (COMEN) and Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi.

According to them, a review of Anambra State budgetary allocations showed that releases for primary healthcare services were poor, below the international best practices and often fail to reflect the actual needs of people in that direction.

The participants, who included civil society members, community leaders, Ward Development Committees (WDC), representatives of Ministry of Health, Primary Healthcare Agency, Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA) and the media, reiterated the needs for more interventions in the sector especially in the remaining quarters of the year 2025 running from October to December.

They also appealed for governor Chukwuma Soludo's administration to consider the needs for prompt release of the budgetary provisions for training and retraining of health workers, including the WDCs, purchase of medication and other medical facilities, logistics supports and maintenance.

The stakeholders believed that when the provisions are made in right proportions, and relevant staff and communities empowered with skills to utilise them, in addition to effective monitoring and evaluation, there would be accountability, transperancy, improved and efficient healthcare deliveries.

Speaking at the occasion, the Executive Director, Civil Rights Concern (CRC), Mr Okey Onyeka, explained that providing more funding in the health sector would lead to efficient service delivery while improving the lives of the residents, especially the frequent users of primary healthcare centres such as children, pregnant and nursing mothers.

"We want to examine the reasons why the health sector funding especially primary and maternal healthcare funding is not released. Why are they not funding those interventions that will improve delivery of services to the centres? We are looking at various budget items that are in the primary healthcare budget; the specific ones that were funded and those not funded.

"We saw it is really very poor in terms of interventions government has given to their budgeted items. Some memo released did not reflect the actual needs of the people. That is why we are trying to ask questions; why were they not funded? Why is funding for capacity building not released? Why were the drug budgeted for not funded? Why is equipment budget not funded? We are going to intensify our engagement with the government and other relevant stakeholders for improvement in this last quarter of the year and beyond," he stated.

Also speaking, the Programme Manager, SPARK 2 JDPC Nnewi, Mr Onyekachi Ololo, implored the State government to boost capacities of PHCs, sustain and improve interventions in the maternal and child survival programs as well as to ensure prompt remittance of Basic Healthcare Provisional Fund.

Ololo further expressed readiness to work with the Anambra State Town Union Council (ASTUC ) in mobilising community participation, monitoring and coordination of activities towards improving maternal healthcare services across the PHCs.

Other speakers, including the President General, Amiyi community in Ogbaru LGA, Comrade Chike Ugboma and a WDC member, Ms Debora Atuenyi expressed optimism that with improved funding in the health sector, patients would access medication and health services like prenatal, neonatal and postnatal for free or at affordable rates.
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