A non-governmental organization (NGO), Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative (NMNCHI) in Gombe State, has raised an alarm at the non-availability of life saving drugs in public hospitals in the state, following government’s refusal to release the sum of N20 million approved in the 2018 budget for the purchase of the drugs. The group has said that the development is alarming and should be taken by the authorities on a serious note, stressing that a lot of patients are exposed to the risk of losing their lives due to the absence of such drugs.
State Chairman of the group, Alhassan Yahya, stated this during an advocacy visit to the Executive chairman of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Gana in his office. The chairman said, it has become worrisome that over seven months into the year 2019, the state government had not released what was approved in the year’s appropriation despite its importance.
Yahya explained that his network, an NGO comprising Civil Society Organization (CSO’s), Faith based Organizations (FBO’s) and the media are working together to see to the improvement and better health services in Gombe State. He promised that the coalition will not relent in its continued advocacy visits to Ministries, Departments and Agencies responsible for the release of the N10 million monthly allocation to the Agency which regrettably had not been forthcoming in the last two years. Also Responded was the executive secretary of the PHCDA, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Gana, appreciated NMNCHI for the concern shown for the improvement of better health services in Gombe State.
He described lack of funding in the health sector as one of its greatest challenges which can be indirectly attributed to the economic recession in the country but wondered why having come out of the economic recession in the past couple of months the funding seems to remain an issue. He, however, noted that the funding is not completely zero due to the partnership the state government enjoys with some international organization in the area of training of its manpower.
