Government to set up 200 health centres in 12 months

Close to 200 health centres will be opened this year under a governmental plan to establish one in each ward in Nigeria, the chairman of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, said on Wednesday. “Primary health care is the foundation of all major diseases and this is the reason why the agency had decided to get to the root of the matter,” the ‘Vanguard’ reported him as saying. Ransome-Kuti made the disclosure at a meeting with Oyo State Deputy Governor Iyiola Oladokun. Ransome-Kuti said the government had released two billion naira (US $17.82 million) for the scheme, suggested by President Olusegun Obasanjo to revive the primary health care service. Oladokun said Oyo had spent 165 million naira ($1.33 million) in the last 20 months to supply drugs to all its health centres; and make primary health, ante-natal and post-natal care, free.