The Federal Government has approved a loan of $110 million for Katsina state from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to enhance health-care delivery in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Mariatu Bala-Usman at the Annual General Meeting of the Katsina State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association said the loan would be used essentially to develop new health care centres and also upgrade existing ones. She made the statement while delivering a paper titled, “Challenges Facing Health Care Delivery in Katsina State and the Way Forward.”
She admitted that the state has a lot of challenges in health care delivery, and stated illiteracy and ignorance about health related issues as some of the issues that need to be tackled.
“Among the challenges being faced in the state are late reporting of sickness at hospitals by many people due to ignorance and illiteracy as well as poor post-natal attendance at hospitals by nursing mothers especially after giving birth, for necessary follow ups for new born babies.“
She also stressed the dilapidated nature of so many of the structures used as health care centres in the state, and the need for more staff to maintain the available facilities.
Katsina was recently ravaged by a scary flood which destroyed over a hundred houses and left over 2,000 people homeless and is thus currently faced with a lot pressure to improve on the availability of basic amenities in the state.
The Wazirin Katsina, Prof. Sani Lugga, at the same event also urged medical doctors to consider their work as humanitarian assistance, arguing that doctors’ rewards are both here on earth and in the world beyond.
