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Abia State was this week declared the winner of the Gold Badge Award on primary healthcare for 2022, a period when Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu was the governor.
In the most recent Scorecard Assessment conducted in August/September 2022, which was analysed to produce the 2022 result, Abia emerged as the only state that scored 100 per cent during the period under review.
The annual award is given to deserving states by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA under its Primary Health Care Under One Roof programme, PHCUOR.
The PHCUOR is a primary healthcare reform agenda aimed at reversing fragmentation in primary health care delivery at the level of states and bringing the management, resources, financing and other operational responsibilities under one body, the State Primary Health Care Board, SPHCB.
The programme has been ongoing since 2011 and represents one of the best efforts of the federal government to make primary healthcare accessible to Nigerians at all levels.
Abia Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Chairman/Acting State Publicity Secretary, Hon. Elder Abraham Amah, in a statement made available to Sunday Sun said the collaboration has so far yielded tangible benefits as most states have developed robust operational modalities to enhance the efficiency of primary health care delivery based on this policy.
To evaluate and determine the progress of implementation and compliance with the policy, the NPHCDA conducts periodical review among the states through a national scorecard exercise for the 36 states and the FCT.
The report read in part: “All states have established their SPHCBs, albeit at varying levels of operationalisation with significant performance recorded in the Scorecard 6 assessment.
Sixty-two per cent of the states surpassed the expected target of 90 per cent, which was a 40 per cent increase when compared to the SC5 results.
Several positions had a tie including the 2nd (Niger – 99%, Plateau – 99%), 4th (Kaduna – 98%, Kebbi – 98%, Zamfara – 98%), 7th (Ondo – 96%, Yobe – 96%) 9th (Delta – 95%, Bauchi – 95%). Abia State was the only state that scored 100% (Gold Badge). Other states with 90-99% (silver badge) include those mentioned above on the tied positions and Adamawa (91%), Enugu (90%). Nineteen per cent (19%) of the states recorded poor performance (0-49%) including Ogun state at 26%.”
“The Abia PDP is once again, happy to identify with one of the successes and accolades our great state won under the leadership of the PDP government of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. This latest award coming from a federal government agency, after the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS in its 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, MPI declared Abia as one of best five states in the country and the best in the South East when measured against the four key sectoral indices of health, education, security and standard of living is not only a testament to the good works of the PDP under Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu but a vindication of the wrongful and unfortunate blanket characterization of the Abia PDP as evil by the present government.,” Amah said.
He added: “We are thankful to Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the PDP and staff of the Ministry of Health, especially those in the State Primary Health Care Board, SPHCB, and all Abians who in one way or the other contributed to this record achievement of our great State.
“We urge the present government to continue to scale the primary healthcare operations in the State as enunciated by the PHCUOR and give Abians the best access to healthcare.”
