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From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
The Gombe State Government, in collaboration with the World Bank through its IMPACT project, has revitalised, upgraded, and handed over 103 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to communities across the state. The initiative is aimed at tackling the life-threatening challenges associated with childbirth and poor healthcare in rural areas.
The upgraded facilities, spread across all 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs), are designed to cut maternal and child deaths by strengthening access to essential healthcare in underserved areas. According to officials, each of the PHCs has now been raised to level 2 standards, with labour rooms, staff quarters, immunisation units, antenatal care (ANC) services, solar-powered lighting, boreholes, pharmacies, stocked drugs, consumables, and qualified manpower.
At the handover ceremony, the Task Team Lead of the World Bank IMPACT project, Dr. Onoriode Ezire, alongside Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, and officials from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), tasked residents and beneficiaries to protect the facilities. “These centres are for you. Use them responsibly to safeguard the lives of women and children,” Ezire said.
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Communities in Barwa Winde (Nafada LGA), Jillahi (Funakaye LGA), Doho (Kwami LGA), Dangar (Yamaltu-Deba LGA), and Gidan Magani (Gombe LGA) were among the beneficiaries. Residents expressed relief that years of poor services and long-distance travel for care may finally end. “Our women used to deliver at home or risk their lives on the way to far-off hospitals. This centre will save lives,” said Malam Usman, a community leader in Yamaltu-Deba.
The Gombe State Government said the initiative complements its Contributory Health Insurance Scheme (GoHealth) and broader reforms aimed at improving access to affordable healthcare. Officials also noted that the facilities will drive immunisation coverage and malaria treatment in line with the IMPACT project’s objectives.
For mothers like Fatima Musa of Doho community, the change is personal. After delivering her last child in a poorly equipped clinic under torchlight, she now walks into a revitalised PHC with confidence. She said, “This time, I know my child and I are safe”.
