By Stephen Adeleye.
The Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KSPHCDA) has solicited the support of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for replacement of the looted and vandalised medical items at Kogi Cold Store and NPI offices during the #EndSARS protest.
It would be recalled that Kogi State Cold Store and NPI offices were looted and vandalised by hoodlums on October 26, 2020, during the EndSARS protest that ravaged the entire country.
Dr Abubakar Yakubu, the Executive Secretary of KSPHCDA, made the appeal when he led a team on a courtesy and congratulatory visit to the Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib in Abuja, on his re appointment for another four years in office.
Yakubu eulogised the ED for tremendous achievements the agency had recorded under his leadership, stressing that his reappointment did not come as a surprise based on his track records of achievements in primary health care and disease control as a whole in Nigeria.
“I wish to also maximize this opportunity to formally submit a report on the unfortunate vandalism of the Kogi State Cold Store and NPI offices on the 26 of October, 2020.
“The State and Agency has been brought to ground zero and we seek for considerations to our plight”, Yakubu said.
Yakubu appealed to the ED to support the State for the release of cold chain equipment for the replacement of the looted ones such as freezers, refrigerators, cold boxes, vaccine carriers, among others.
He further asked for funding and technical support for the repair of the two damaged walk-in cold rooms, facilitate and support the implementation of the IMPACT project in Kogi State.
He stressed that the impact of the looted and damaged cold chain equipment for Routine Immunization service delivery was grave, saying access to services would be hindered as the vaccines stored at LGA levels would soon be exhausted.
Yakubu prayed for more fruitful years and more wins ahead for the ED NPHCDA.
Responding, the Executive Director NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, thanked Dr Yakubu and his team on behalf of the management and staff of NPHCDA.
“I want to say thank you very much for this impressive efforts to come all the way from Kogi to visit us.
“I want to assure you that we will do the best we can as an agency to help you address all the issues that you have raised.
“Hopefully, within the next one week we will be able to address some of these issues you have raised if not all of them”, Shuaib said.
On the issue of attracting more partners to the state, Shuaib noted that it was not the number of partners that matters but the effectiveness of collaboration and support from partners.
“It is not enough to bring in partners but we will work with only partners that are good to go and most productive.
“In terms of some of the programmes, I will still emphasis that we get back to the workings which will be more easier and enhance our diplomatic efforts.
“Once again I want to say thank you very much for coming, I know these are very challenging times for you because of the multiple challenges that you have to face notwithstanding some of the political issues that also exist.
“But this is an opportunity for you to imagine how you can transform primary healthcare in Kogi and I am hopeful that at the end of this crisis period you would come out stronger and be more effective towards the delivery of quality primary healthcare to the people of Kogi State”, he said.
