The Gombe State Executive Council on Wednesday approved N1.1 billion for shipment of donated medical equipment from the United States of America.
Disclosing this while briefing journalists at the end of a Gombe State Executive Council meeting presided by Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, Commissioner for Health Dr Habu Dahiru, government approved payment of logistics to Subiaco Atlantic USA.
He disclosed that the payment of logistics to Atlantic USA will help offset administrative charges, freighting and packaging of equipment that were donated to Gombe State.
He said, “The logistics for the transportation packaging, freighting account to N1.1 billion. Gombe state applied for donation of medical equipments from World Medical Relief USA, and they approved and sent ten 40ft containers to Gombe State.
“The executive council because of its resolve to improve healthcare we have produced a lot of infrastructure and we need to complement it with relevant medical equipment.”
On revitalisation of 82 primary healthcare facilities across the state’s 11 local government areas to ensure affordable and quality healthcare for all citizens, Dahiru explained that the approval was aimed at providing at least two primary healthcare facilities in each of the state’s 114 political wards.
This initiative, according to the Commissioner, will complement the 64 facilities revitalised under the World Health Organisation’s Impact Project and the additional 10 facilities supported by UNICEF.
He said, “Now to the primary health care centres across the 11 LGAs in Gombe, you will recall the president, the governors and partners signed a contract to improve PHCs from level one to level two and to also make each of the wards to have two functional PHCs. Furthering that, Gombe state initiated the revitalisation of 82 health facilities, this will be in addition to the 10 that will be supported by UNICEF and another 64 supported by the IMPACT project, a World Bank supported programme.
“So for us to achieve revitalising 82 health facilities in the 11 LGAs which will comprise supply of equipment, drilling of boreholes, provision of solar power and renovation and upgrading of the infrastructure including the staff quarters, we will need the sum of N1,935,195,190, 11 billion.”
