The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has embarked on an intensive assessment tour of primary healthcare centres in the council.
The council's vice chairman, Lawrence Onuchukwu, who led other delegates from the council's health department on the tour, said it would avail them the opportunity to having first-hand information on the state of the health centres in the council and how to improve them.
Onuchukwu who spoke when he visited some healthcare centres in Karshi, Orozo, Jikwoyi and Karu, listed the challenges to include shortage of staff, drugs, electricity, finance and lack of boreholes and perimeter fence.
"Having taken over the mantle of leadership of the council, we met almost dilapidated healthcare centres. So as a new government, it is important for us to go round and get first-hand information on the true state of the facilities," he said.
He said the delegation would not stop at assessing but also find means of improving the centres to enhance efficient service delivery.
"This will enable us to know how we can serve our people more, in terms of providing primary healthcare services to them. So our priority is the people, especially those in the rural areas; the poorest of the poor," he said.
The council's head, Department of Health, Dr. Modupe Adeyinka, noted that if most of the challenges facing the healthcare centres were addressed, they would attract more patronage to the clinics, thereby improving the welfare of the people.
Source: Daily Trust