Nigerian secondary school students that didn’t receive the preceding primary school education must be a very rare specie of humans. Actually, they don’t exist. However, never say never, hence I stand to be corrected. Anyway, what would be the consequence of not having a primary school education and proceeding to secondary school? Nothing, actually. The child gets nothing from secondary school education. Nigeria’s health care system can be likened to this unusual child. Let’s learn more about primary health care in Nigeria.
Nigeria has three levels of government viz the federal, state and local governments which have relative autonomy in policy implementation, decision making and, in the allocation, and utilization of their resources although the local governments barely satisfy the requirements for being called an autonomous government. The facts clearly state otherwise. However, the National Health Policy, and recently the National Health Bill, ascribe roles and responsibilities to each level. Federal responsibilities include setting standards, formulation of policies and implementation guidelines, coordination, regulating practices for the health care system and delivering services at tertiary care level. They control the federal hospitals nationwide.
Secondary health care provides specialized services to patients through outpatient and inpatient services of hospitals under the control of state governments. At the primary level, which is the lowest level and the entry point to health care services, are the health posts and clinics, health centres and comprehensive health centres providing basic primary care services, spanning promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services. LGAs should control and fund Primary Health Centres (PHCs) nationwide. These PHCs should be located in wards, which are the smallest levels of government in the country. The WHO lists some objectives of primary health care including:
- organizing health services around people’s needs and expectations (service delivery reforms);
- integrating health into all sectors (public policy reforms), among others.
Let’s cut a long story short. PHC was designed to cater directly for the health needs of the people. This system allows health workers to combine various factors peculiar to a particular community, within a particular region of a state in ensuring that their health needs are well taken care of. Imagine a health center so close to your home you could walk in anytime and receive care in the shortest possible time. Imagine a health center where you don’t have to stay on a line, waiting endlessly for hours to see the doctor. That’s something functional primary health centres can offer you.
A primary health centred approach will also prove indispensable in early disease detection and prevention. It nips health problems in the bud before any form of escalation. It is hoped that these and many more benefits will spur a reawakening of primary health centres nationwide. It’s truly health for the people, by the people and of the people.
Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5346888/
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