The Oyo State House of Assembly has moved to sanitize the health sector, as the State commissioner, Dr. Bashir Bello, medical officers and other medical heads appeared before the State lawmakers for evaluations.
At the Thursday plenary, the lawmakers lamented the state of healthcare in the State, charging the commissioner, the executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mr Olatunji Olatunde and other representative Health officers to make adequate use of the fund allocated to healthcare sector, control linkage and mismanagement of resources instead of blaming the government for every shortcomings in the system.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin noted that it is part of campaign promises of the State PDP led administration to revive Oyo healthcare system.
“We understand that the inherited 2019 budget for the State is very low compare to the World Health Organization, WHO recommendations percentage for the health sector, however, we have equally discovered some linkages, mismanagement and unethical practices in the health sector especially at the primary healthcare centers which is closer to the people.
“We are going to identify the problems that we have and prescribe approaches towards revolving the problems facing our healthcare system, and these will be unanimously agreed on how our people can live well and be safe.
“We going to look at how health budget can be increased in 2020, just as we did to the education recently when the 2019 budget was reviewed to provide facilities, equipment, personnel and other needs, but I charged the commissioner to do more in area of monitoring, linkages, mismanagement and other allegations of unethical practices in the health sector,” he added.
Identifying poor funding as the key problem affecting adequate performance of primary healthcare in Oyo State, the Health Commissioner, Dr. Bashir Bello noted that the State budget for health has always around nine percent all the years.
He said, “Our people will benefit from the decisions we make too improve infrastructures and facilities in our primary healthcare sector.
“There is need to contact the personnel in charge of affairs in these primary healthcare centers to make available needed equipment in required quantity, specifications for local government to make provision.
“When we apprehend workers involve in unethical practices in the system, then you discover they are wives, sons, daughters or relatives of influential people in the country or State.
“We need less political interference in activities of the health system, if we are ready to make a significant sanitation of the systeofto serve the people of Oyo State better.”
The Executive Secretary of the Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mr Olatunji Olatunde in his words opined that Politicians in the past do not want to invest in health because it is believe that the impact is not tangible and people cannot physically see the project as roads, drainage or boreholes constructed.
According to him, aside that the primary healthcare facilities is expected to be present in all the political wards in the State, which is not actualize yet, our existing facilities are in bad conditions.
“It is not the fault of the State Government but that of Local Government, because if someone is not healthy he cannot use other provided infrastructures which render them useless.
“We don’t need physical structures but let us maintain and equipped the existing facilities and make them active first,” he added.
The Speaker thus charged the commissioner and other head of health facilities to fish out scapegoats in the system who are sabotaging the efforts of the government in provision of quality healthcare for the people.
“We are setting up Oyo State Anti-corruption agency and the Oyo assembly will be happy and willing to back the agency in sanitizing the rots in the health sector,” he added
