Group Identifies Challenges in Bauchi State Healthcare Service Delivery

Bashir Hassan Abubakar

The Bauchi State Accountability Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (BaSAM) have articulated it’s December 2021 priorities areas to focus on and also reviewed it’s November activities. 

A press statement signed and issued by the public relations officer of BaSAM, Bashir Hassan Abubakar and made available to newsmen said that part of the areas BaSAM would focus on in their December 2021 activities will mainly centered around advocacy visit to the ministry of finance and office of the state accountant general to fast track funds releases while presenting evidence generated from the recently concluded State Basic Health Care Provident Fund (BHCPF) scorecard. 

The statement said that the scorecard development and activity review was to ensure that no one is left behind in accessing health care services in Bauchi State, irrespective of economic or social status.

In a presentation during the scorecard development meeting on the current status of BSHCMA by the agency’s Executive Secretary , Dr. Mansur Dada, BaSAM discovered some major advocacy issues that needs to be embarked upon by the Coalition.

Part of the key advocacy issue identified is the ongoing impasse between the State  Government and organized labour  (NLC/TUC) over objections for salary deduction to be remitted to the BHCPF due to what the organised labour termed as “non-compliance of the state government to effect N30,000 minimum wage”.. 

The statement also disclosed the inability of the Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Agency (BASOVCA) to remit the one percent of it’s revenue to qualify them into the BHCPF program due to a policy related issues that established the agency.

It was also agreed during the BHCPF  scorecard development meeting on the need to reach out to the private sector and philanthropic individuals to get involved and adopt vulnerable and poorest of the poor into the health contributory scheme.

Another key advocacy issue identified during the meeting was the inadequate  running cost and utility vehicles for the implementation  of BASHCMA activities, which is affecting effective monitoring of health facilities across the State. 

The statement quoted BaSAM Co-Chair, Mr Abu John Yusuf as saying, “there is enough to keep us busy from now to second quarter of next year. We are not going to be over ambitious with our December priorities because of the yuletide season , but the few we have identified, we will follow it to the letter”. 

“The proposed NYSC MNCH-CDS group initiative being championed by BaSAM is another priority area that will remain constant in our agenda. It is going to be part of our key advocacy activity”. 

“Though BaSAM have identified other areas of interests towards improved MNCH in Bauchi State, some of the challenges militating against implementation of our activities is the slow phase of approval of budgets to carry out our activities”, Yusuf said.

Our correspondent reports that the BHCPF scorecard development is the first in the series of other healthcare scorecards and it attracted inputs from the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Bauchi State Health Contributory Management Agency, BaSAM members and other relevant MDAs.