Posted on: Tue 25-08-2020

Dreams of establishing covid-19 testing center in Taraba state have no doubt become a reality as plans according to the commissioner of Health,  Dr. Innocent Vakkai, to install testing facilities at the state specialist hospital have been concluded. 

The centre which he said would commence operations this week,  he believed would relieved the state the stress of taking samples to Abuja and other parts of the country for confirmation. 

 The commission who stated this yesterday at commencement of six day training for enumerators and supervisors for the domestication of the  Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) in Jalingo, the state capital said the giant stride achieved in halting the spread of the virus in the state,  was made possible by the state government under the leadership of Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku. 

Vakki, who also said relevant plans have as well be put in place to domesticate the Basic Health Care Provision Fund BHCPF), said the ongoing training have become necessary in order to facilitate the domestication of the BHCPF.

The training which was organised by the state Ministry of Health in Collaboration with the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (TSPHCDA) and the  State Contributory Health Insurance Agency (TSCHIA), as observed by our correspondent heralded the presence of enumerators and supervisors from health facilities spread across the state. 

The BHCPF which is an  establishment from the National Health Act of 2014, if finally domesticated in the state,  it would no doubt provide funding for primary health care services and basic minimum package for and also emergency medical treatment for Nigerians especially the poor and the vulnerable. 

Certain that the domestication would address the challenge of access to adequate health care services especially in the rural areas , the ongoing training of  primary health facility managers as made known by him,  ia aimed at achieving provision of health care services to the grassroots.

Elated by the development, the Executive Secretary of TSPHCDA , Alhaji Aminu Hassan Jauro , who did not only commence the leadership of the state for giving priority to health sector in general and the primary health care services in particular,  noted that the state was yet to benefit from Basic Health Care Provision Fund, hence the need for the enumerators to work round the clocks in ensuring that the dream of domesticating it  becomes a reality. 

The training which he said would give participant the basic training on the generation of data for the effective provision of basic health care service delivery in the state, he believed would end up in heralding smiles on the faces of the people irrespective of places of domiciles in the state. 

Jauro, who believed that domesticating the BHCPF Act has long over due, urged the participants not to leave any stone unturned,  in coming out with modalities that would stand the test of time .

Taraba as gathered by our correspondent,  is one of the few states in the country that are yet to benefit from the aforementioned Act which our correspondent learnt if eventually achieved would go a long way to spread smiles on the faces of the people especially those domiciles in rural communities. 

Charles Akpeji, Jalingo 

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