Follow Us on Google
From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Bauchi State Government has launched a Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) worth N480 million in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The partnership will ensure sustainable funding to procure and distribute malaria drugs and maternal new born and child health (MNCH) commodities in the state.
USAID’s Health Population and Nutrition (HPN) Office Director, Paul McDermott, unveiled the project in Bauch0069
The U.S. agency officially handed over MNCH seed stock commodities worth N364.8 million and over N80 million worth of malaria medicine to the state.
According to USAID, “These MNCH and malaria commodities will capitalise the state’s DRF scheme, contribute to a sustainable drug supply system and save the lives of thousands of women of reproductive age and children under the age of five.
Other News
“The implementation of a sustainable state-wide DRF seeks to overcome a common problem in the healthcare sector – the non-availability of MNCH and malaria medicines.”
The DRF scheme would adopt a cost recovery strategy which has the potential to sustain commodity availability in the 323 wards and 24 general hospitals in Bauchi State and potential to extend the scheme to other facilities.
Governor Bala Mohammed, while speaking on the occasion expressed gratitude for the partnership saying it would improve maternal and new born and child health in the state.
Mohammed at the occasion directed the health ministry should initiate the process of immediatel recruit 100 medical doctors and consultants to replace those that had left the state service.
Represented by his deputy, Baba Tela, he lamented that the number of medical doctors and consultants in the state adversely affected effective healthcare delivery, especially at the primary level.
He also directed that qualified health workers across the state should be recruited among the thousands of volunteers in all the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the state.
He assured the citizens that the drugs provided under the scheme would be adequately utilised, while efforts would be made to ensure that the revolving scheme did not fail because.
