By Tina Akannam
Dutse — Jigawa State government has paid N300 million to the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, as its 50 per cent contribution  to provide maternal and child health services in all the 27 local government areas of the state, Governor Sule Lamido has disclosed.

Lamido dropped this hint while addressing delegates at the 3rd state council on health yesterday, saying the desire of the government was to tackle the morbidity and mortality of women and children in the state.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmad Mahmoud, on the occasion, said in the first quarter of 2011, the scheme will be rolled out to additional six local government areas in the state, including Gwaram, Dutse, Birniwa, Guri, Babura and Ringim.

He explained that the programme was already operational in six local government areas of the state, which are  Hadejia, Kazaure, Gumel Birnin-Kudu, Jahun, and  Kafin-Hausa.

Governor Lamido further stated that his administration introduced free maternal and child health in all parts of the state with sole aim to poverty through the use of  primary and secondary healthcare system.

According to him, in addressing tertiary healthcare system, the state government has expended over N3 billion in the last three years to ensure that the Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital in Dutse is upgraded to a standard specialist hospital.

His words:   “It was pathetic that  before we came into power a quarter of children under five years were underweight, while household access to health facilities was at 51.2 per cent as immunization indices were below 10 per cent for all antigen, indicating poor access and utilization those services.”

He noted that when his administration have been providing adequate  budgetary provisions to the health sector in the state, according to him, the budgetary allocation in the sector had  increased from less than 4 per cent to 11 per cent by the 2009 giving an astronomic rise of about 200 per cent.

Enumerating achievements recorded in the health sector, he said that his administration built and equipped a new school of nursing and midwifery and provided a permanent facility for training of nurses and midwives.

According to him, in the last three years their indices for human resources for health have improved from 48 doctors to 155 doctors across the state, adding that nurses, number has increased from 351 to 592, noting that in that more 500 health workers were added to the system.

In his earlier his keynote address, the state, commissioner, ministry of health, Dr. Ibrahim Muhammad Nashabaru, said the ministry in line with the state comprehensive development framework and its reform of the health sector, has produced its state strategic health development plan 2010 – 2015.

Dr Nashabaru explained that the document was produced in fulfilment of the present administration’s quest to enhance the health, adding that  the third state council on health will focus on the count down to 2015_ SSHDD as the road map for achieving the health related MDGs.