To enhance referral system of the sick and pregnant women in the state, the Kano State government is to deploy customised tricycle ambulances across the state.
The ambulances, specially made in China, are to facilitate referral from rural and hard-to-reach areas to urban centres, as part of efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labara announced this recently just as he assured stakeholders that the government was working to tackle the challenges of inadequate human resource for health and transport services to health facilities.
Labara, who spoke at the mega community mobilisation and engagement programme, organised by Partnership for Transforming Health System II (PATHS2), at Indabo, Wudil Local Council of Kano State, said the government was not unaware of challenges facing rural dwellers in accessing freematernal and child services in the state. The rural dwellers constitute 70 per cent of Kano population.
He said government’s efforts would further manifest “when the people start seeing tricycle ambulances come to their communities.”
Labara added that each Local Council would have three tricycle ambulances for a start. The state Ministry of Local Government is to coordinate the scheme.
He assured the rural dwellers that the shortfall currently experienced in requisite health personnel would reduce, when 100 doctors and pharmacists, now undergoing training overseas, return to the state. About 50 nurses are also being trained in Egypt.
According to the Commissioner: “Health delivery is a gradual thing and we are getting there. We are training manpower, building facilities and doing drug-revolving programme with the support of PATHS2. For the first time, the state government has spent N8billion on health in 2013. We are improving and it will improve as time goes on,” he said.
Labara also urged the people to access any of the 16 mobile clinics provided to treat their ailments, adding that cholera and measles were still prevalent.
National Programme Manager PATHS2, Michael Egboh stressed that quality health delivery is the collective responsibility of all, as he appealed that the state government, development partners, traditional and religious leaders must further partner to improve access to health services.
He added that PATHS2 was also collaborating with the state branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, to provide support transport services for pregnant women, coupled with talks with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to deploy more medical health workers to communities in the state.
