FG to rehabilitate additional 10,000 Primary Health Centres – Minister

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says additional 10,000 Primary Health Centres (PHC) will be rehabilitated to boost healthcare delivery across the country.

The minister made this known while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

According to him, the Buhari administration has so far resuscitated 4,800 PHCs.

He said, “at the inception of the current administration in 2015, less than 20 per cent of PHCs were working, maybe about 1,000 were working.” As of now, 4800 are functional.

“So many of the health centres have been revitalised, they are working; not only are they working, government has provided the Basic Health Care Provision Fund with which service can be paid at the primary healthcare centre for those who cannot afford it for the poor.

“The aspiration is to increase the number from 4,000 to something near 10,000, one per political ward in the country.’’

While reacting to a question on the identity of the Covid-19 index case in Nigeria, the minister dismissed speculations that government was hiding the identity of the patient.

According to him, it is medically unethical to reveal the identity of the Italian currently quarantined in a medical facility in Łagos.

It was reported that an Italian, who is yet to be publicly identified, tested positive for the virus on arrival in Nigeria on Feb. 25.

The minister said unlike the index case of Ebola, Patrick Sawyerr who was known, the Italian could not be exposed because his privacy must be respected.