The Oyo State government has commenced the process to review its minimum health service package, that patients can access at primary health care facilities across the state.
Delivering her speech at the review meeting in Oyo town, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, said that the minimum service package needs to be standardized.
She revealed that the primary objective of the review meeting is to meet the basic health needs of the entire people of the state.
Dr. Ajetunmobi hinted that the intiative is a priority set of interventions which should be provided in PHC centers on a daily basis at little or no cost.
She added that the government is on the verge of addressing human resource gap in the primary health care facilities.
The commissioner further said that the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration has shown unflinching commitment to the health sector since he came on board in 2019.
Noting that the commitment of the governor to the health sector of the state was targeted at improving the health indices and level of health status of residents of the state, Dr Ajetunmobi said, “This meeting is designed to strengthen health service delivery in our state at the PHC level.
“The Minimum Health Service Package, MHSP, according to the Federal Government policy is described as priority set of interventions which should be provided in PHC centers on a daily basis, at all times, and at little or no cost to clients through government financing mechanisms.
“MHSP is basically deployed to meet the needs of the entire population in Oyo State where resources are limited by aggregating services together.
“The MHSP minimizes costs, both of the services as well as for patients to receive the services.
“The present administration in the state is also making frantic effort to ensure that government’s health facilities are adequately equipped so that the people of Oyo State can enjoy appropriate and qualitative health care.”
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, reiterated the commitment of Governor Makinde at ensuring the delivery of quality health care at primary health care facilities in the state .
He said that the government has completed the renovation of 210 primary health care facilities out of the 351 facilities under the watch of the board.
He explained that MHSP is a constitutional requirement that must be acknowledged by relevant stakeholders.
The meeting had in attendance the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusoji Adeyanju, the Executive Secretary, Oyo State Health Insurance Agency, OYSHIA, Dr. Olusola Akande, and the Executive Secretary, Oyo State Agency for Control of Aids, SACA, Dr. Lanre Abass.
Others are: representatives of programme Implementing partners, such as UNICEF, President Malaria Initiative, Breakthrough Action of Nigeria, among others.
