An aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 6 gubernatorial elections in Anambra state, Lady Chidi Onyemelukwe, has promised to overhaul the 629 primary healthcare centres, health clinics and health posts in Anambra state, if elected.
She said her government would achieve such feat and other healthcare challenges of the state through a bottom-up approach.
Speaking prior to a multi-stakeholders consultative meeting of the party ahead of the party’s June 26 primaries, Onyemelukwe regretted that Anambra remained challenged in the healthcare service delivery sector despite modest efforts of successive administrations.
She said, “We have outlined a bottom-up approach in our manifesto. Our plan is to provide the 629 primary healthcare centres, health clinics and health posts in Anambra State with water and basic sanitation, adequate staffing, decent remuneration, beddings, nets and healthcare consumables.
“We also intend to gradually, dependent on available resources and competing priorities, pursue a phased closure of the infrastructure gaps that exist at these PHCs.
“The pressure on secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions will be reduced if PHCs are fixed and supported to regain the confidence of the citizens to approach them for their basic healthcare needs.”
Onyemelukwe also assured that the state’s infant and maternal mortality rates and life expectancy would be improved if her bottom-up public health policy was vigorously implemented.
She further pledged her government’s readiness to support the state’s health insurance scheme to broaden its subscriber base as well as institutionalise periodic subventions from the state government to qualifying faith-based and other private healthcare service providers.
“Our plan is to help it deliberately target and enrol those in the organised private sector. We plan to employ instruments like tax rebates and other incentives to bring this specific corporate user group in. Once they are in, then the system can reach out to capture the undeserved in the informal sector.
“We will vigorously pursue people-oriented healthcare programmes if given the opportunity,” Onyemelukwe stated.
