Like every Primary Health Center (PHC), Warawa PHC in Warawa Local Government Area of Kano State exists to cater for the health needs of the residents of Warawa community and its environs. A few years ago, the entire PHC was renovated, courtesy of the Kano State Contributory Health Care Management Agency (KSCHMA) as a result, services are being dispensed with ease. “The improvement of the PHC came about as a result of the introduction of the KSCHMA of which Warawa PHC is a beneficiary,” said Usman Muhammad, the officer in charge of the facility.
KSCHMA was established in 2016 by an act of the Kano State parliament with the aim of ensuring all residents of the state have access to quality and affordable healthcare services. According to Muhammad, through the monthly capitation of about two hundred thousand naira (N200,000) which the PHC receives from the Agency, they have been able to, not just provide health services to patients at a subsidised cost, but also procure the necessary medical equipment for the PHC and maintain it. “With the money, we built a borehole, connected the facility with electricity, repaired our delivery bed and bought lots of other equipment,” he added.
While he praises the development, Muhammed lamented that the facility still lacks adequate manpower. “We need manpower in all ramifications of health services; midwives, community health extension workers, pharmacy technician”, he said, adding that one of the two labor rooms in the PHC is also not functioning because it is not completed. This requires urgent attention as the facility receives numerous deliveries that one labor room is sometimes not enough.
Warawa PHC appears to be putting the funds received from KASCHMA to good use, but the facility could do even better if some of the resources are also used to improve the workforce, even on temporary basis.
We commend the efforts of KASCHMA and the Kano State government and hope that they will be emulated by other states. We also urge Warawa LGA and the Kano State government to complement their efforts by:
1. Recruiting and deploying more skilled health workers to the PHC.
2. Completing the construction of the second labor room and equipping it with the necessary equipment.