By
Yakubu Jekadafari
Improving accessibility to health care facilities has been described as one of the priorities of renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in order to reduce pains associated with paying medical bills out of pocket by citizens. This was captured today 13/02/2025 at the Conference hall of the Gombe State Ministry of Health during the signing of MOU between the National Health Authority and 5 Selected State owned Health Care Facilities for CEmoC programme in the state.
In his opening remarks the Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Hon. Dr. Habu Dahiru (Dan Masanin Deba, thanks President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Hon. Coordinating Minister of Health Professor Mohammad Ali Pate and the Director General of NHIA Dr. Kelechi Ohiri for bringing the CEmOC programme to Gombe State. He also Congratulated the NHIA Gombe State Coordinator in person of Alhaji (Dr). Ahmed Usman, whom he described as hard working, dedicated and whose coming to Gombe was a huge blessing to the state because of the numerous intervention programmes the state enjoys at the moment and the NHIA State office efforts in ensuring enrollees are given the needed qualitative and affordable healthcare needed.
While speaking Dr. Habu Dahiru, called on the selected Health Care Facilities to judiciously implement the programme as prescribed by the implementation Guidelines. He further told participants that the National and the State Government had recently witnessed huge successes that revolutionarised the healthcare delivery in the country and the state. This he said is because, improving accessibility to health care facilities has been one of the priorities of renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in order to reduce pain in spending on medical bills by citizens.
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Gombe State Coordinator, Alhaji (Dr). Ahmed Usman, while giving the background on the NHIA Maternal initiative said; The interventions aims to reduce the preventable maternal deaths and morbidity, which have remain unacceptably high, through targeted health financing and health insurance. Nigeria accounts for the second highest number of maternal deaths globally.
This high number of maternal deaths could be attributed to complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth, which also reflects the inequalities in access to quality health services. In spite of the numerous maternal and child interventions, the leading causes of maternal death still occur during this crucial window – Haemorrhage, Hypertensive Disorder, Infections, Unsafe abortion and Prolonged Obstructed labour.
NHIA designed and develop two interventions to address the unacceptable high maternal morbidity and mortality rates through targeted health financing and health insurance mechanisms.
The two interventions are:
NHIA Fistula Free Programme NFFP (Currently being implemented at the Gombe State Specialist Hospital, Gombe)
NHIA- Financing Accessing to Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) for maternal complication.
Dr. Usman further highlighted that, the Strategic Objective of the programme is to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality due to obstetric complications during and following pregnancy and child births among vulnerable women through targeted health financing and health insurance mechanism using the VGF/BHCPF. and the Scope of Coverage among others include;
Haemorrhage – APH/PPH(Antipartum Haemorrhage/Postpartum Haemorrhage)
Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy – Pre-eclampsia/ Eclampsia Prolonged Obstructed Labour Raptured Uterus Sepsis
Post-abortion complications
Ectopic pregnancy(fertilized egg implants begins to develop outside the normal uterine cavity)
Preterm/ Pre-Labour Rapture of Membrane (P/PROM)
Dr. Usman, finally said the selected State Owned Health facilities for the CEmOC programme in Gombe state are:
Gombe State Specialist Hospital, Gombe.
Zainab Bulkachuwa Women and Children Hospital, Gombe.
General Hospital Kaltungo.
General Hospital Bajoga.
General Hospital Dukku.
The Executive Secretary Gombe State Hospitals Management Board was represented by the Director Hospital Services Dr. Bello Abdulkadir who in his remarks thank the Authority for the interventions and pledged the support of the Board towards the success of the programme. He said the programme came at a time when the financial hardship associated with healthcare is bitting hard on Nigerians and that the programme will really bring succour to millions of households across the country. He further called on the facilities not to abuse the trust bestowed on them by the NHIA and the state. He promised to engage stakeholders in sensitizing the general public on the CEmOC programme.
At the end of the occasion, the Hon. Commisioner of Health, the NHIA State Coordinator and the Director Hospital Services GSHMB witnessed the signing of the Memorandum Of Understanding between the National Health Authority and the selected Health Care Facilities.
The Programme was covered by Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (Jewel Fm) Gombe State at the Gombe State Ministry of Health Conference Hall.
