The Anambra State Government has said it will create an online platform to checkmate cases of corruption associated with the payment of health charges across the 617 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in the state.

The platform will help to improve the working relationship between the rural dwellers, civil society organisations, media, the state ministry of health and the PHC employees and also the financial transactions.

The state commissioner for health, Dr Afam Obidike, disclosed this during the inauguration of the 3^rd state council meeting on health organized in Awka, on Thursday, by the state Ministry of Health in collaboration with her partners including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union.

According to Obidike, the state government through the state Ministry of Health is creating the platform to address the issue of corruption in the health sector, especially, at the Primary Healthcare Centres.

He said, “Since the present administration of governor Chukwuma Soludo came on board, there have been a lot of complaints from various communities that people, particularly, pregnant women paid between N30,000 to N40,000 for only child delivery at the PHCs without the government knowledge.

“We are coming up with what we called “digitalization of healthcare system to checkmate corruption in the state health sector.

“We are going to past the fixed amount of money to be paid for every service delivery including delivery of babies in all the Primary Healthcare Centres in the state. It would not cost more than N7,000-10,000 naira only. We don’t want Nd-Anambra to suffer. I have given the direction and the governor has approved.

“The Ministry under my watch will no longer allow criminal elements to do business with the people’s health. The era is over.

“I can confirm it. People have told me about the corruption going on, on daily basis at the PHCs across the state. And I will do everything possible to stop the menace in the health system of the state, the Commissioner vowed.

Declaring the event open, the State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, assured that his administration will revitalize the health sector of the state for the benefit of the residents.

The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim said that his administration is committed to giving the State residents sustainable healthcare services, and called for a joint effort in the move towards the transformation of the healthcare system of the state.

He charged the participants at the event to devise a means to assist in strengthening the health sector.

The team lead and Zonal Coordinator of Anambra State Coalition of Civil Society Organisation Network on Health, Prof. Dennis Aribodor, who also confirmed the corruption going on in the PHCs, called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to urgently intervene on the matter in the interest of people living at the rural communities, noting that there is lack of health personnel, high cost of drugs and other poor healthcare service delivery at the community health centres.

In a presentation, the keynote speaker at the event, Obinna Onwujekwe, a Professor of Health Economics, System and Policy in the Department of Health Administration and Management at the University of Nigeria, tasked the Anambra State government on a new Anambra healthcare policy, pointing out that the state and the federal government should endeavor to do the needful in ensuring that the lapses in the health sector as exposed by the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak are corrected.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the event which attracted health professionals from both the public and private health sectors had its theme; “Resilient and Sustainable Health System for Anambra state: Opportunities and Way Forward”. (Nigerian Tribune)

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