Osun Gets $20m To Fix Healthcare

Osun State government is to get $20million to fix healthcare facilities, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, announced this.

He stated this when he received Governor Gboyega Oyetola in his office in Abuja.

The money is the earning of the state from the World Bank-supported Saving One Million Lives (SOML) programme for result initiative.

The programme is aimed at giving incentives based on achievement of results (health outcomes) and helping to drive institutional processes needed to achieve results.

It also seeks to catalyse change in the way health business is done by focussing on results and governnce.

The programme is financed through the $500m International Development Association (IDA) credit to the Federal Government over a period of four years, for distribution to states on the basis of performance.

States are assessed based on the implementation of a number of maternal and child healthcare indicators, which determine what is earned.

Oyetola said Osun State would use the money to fix 332 out of the over 900 Primary Health Centres (PHC).

This will be on the basis of one PHC per ward, so as to bring healthcare to the doorstep of the people at the grassroots.

The governor, who  is the chairman of the committee on healthcare which he constituted immediately after his inauguration, said he took charge “to put my eyes on the ball and ensure that the 332 PHCs go into full operation within the shortest possible time.”

Oyetola said he was prioritising healthcare because “a healthy state is a wealthy state.”

That is why healthcare and education are critital indices of the Human Capital Development (HCD), he added.

The governor commended the minister for his sopport for Osun state and for his ambition when he was bidding for the position.

He explained that he was looking forward to the actualiasation of the planned upgrading of the Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa to a Federal Medical Centre.

Permanennt Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Abdullahi, and other top officials, including Dr. Ibrahim Kana, the Programme Manager of SOML, who made a presentation of the Osun State Healthcre indices, attended the meeting.

The governor also yesterday received the Deputy Head of Mission Finnish Embassy, Otto Stenius, and Trade and Investment Development attache Ms, Suri Laakson, at the Osun House in the Fedderal Capital Territory.

The envoy promised to support the state in respect of a planned agroculture exhibition.

Oyetola urged developed countries to support developing countries so as to empower their people.

“It is in the best interest of the developed countries to assist developing counties to prevent migration which is now in a very high rate.

He canvassed the idea of Public–Private-Partnership (PPP) as a business model saying “government has no business in business”