By FOLASADE AKPAN

At 20.9 per cent, the North-West recorded the lowest availability of basic medical equipment in health facilities, while the South-West, at 48.8 per cent, recorded the highest.

This information comes from the 2023 National Health Facility Survey (NHFS) recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, with technical assistance from the World Bank.

A health facility mapping and listing exercise was carried out to generate an up-to-date list of all health facilities in Nigeria, with 3,330 facilities randomly sampled across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The report revealed that 68 per cent of Secondary Health Facilities (SHFs) and 29.9 per cent of public Primary Health Facilities (PHFs) have functional basic medical equipment.

Basic medical equipment, as defined in the survey, includes any weighing scale, thermometer, stethoscope, blood pressure (BP) apparatus, and examination light, which were considered to be available and functioning at the time of the survey.

The survey also assessed the availability of essential drugs, defined as the percentage of essential drugs available and not expired in health facilities at the time of the survey.

The findings showed that 50.6 per cent of essential drugs were available in SHFs, while 34.3 per cent were available in PHFs.

Regarding immunisation services, the survey indicated that various vaccines were available at public health facilities at the time of the survey.

Measles antigen was available in 51.9 per cent of facilities, Pentavalent in 51 per cent, and Oral Polio in 52 per cent. Other vaccines available included BCG 51 per cent, Rotavirus 47.3 per cent, Pneumococcal 45.8 per cent.

Also, Inactivated Polio 48.6 per cent, Human Papillomavirus 37.7 per cent, Tetanus Toxoid/Tetanus Diphtheria 49 per cent, Yellow Fever 50 per cent, and Meningitis 48.1 per cent.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2023 NHFS provides a thorough evaluation of the state of healthcare facilities in Nigeria, offering critical insights into their preparedness and capacity to deliver essential health services.

The survey?s objectives include providing information to help healthcare managers at various levels evaluate performance and identify weaknesses that need to be addressed to improve service delivery.

It also aims to assess the quality of care and the availability and readiness of secondary facilities to better understand their capacity to provide services. (NAN)

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