The National primary health care
development Agency (NPHCDA) created in 1992 in Nigeria was charged with the
responsibility of providing appropriate
policy direction, overseeing the supervision, resource mobilization for PHC
implementation at all levels and provision of technical support (Obionu,
2007:12).
In a national inventory of community
based infrastructure just released in May 1977, it was discovered that only
14,474 out of 101,041 communities in Nigeria have any health care facility at
all, representing only 14.3% coverage of health institutions. This shows that
the health for all the year 2000 remains a mirage in Nigeria. This leaves 85.7%
of Nigeria unsaved. Also, only 856 general hospitals are serving over 150
million Nigerians. Also, there are 14 teaching hospitals 7,027 and 7,231
dispensaries in Nigeria, most of which are urban based.
There are also 4,775 maternity
homes, 3,004 rural health centre. 284 optometric (eye) hospitals and 152
leprosaria in the country.
The table below shows the PHC
financing by the federal ministry of health and social services (FMHSS) for the
period of 1990 to 1993.
Year
|
PHC Financing
|
PHC Financing as % Total Expenditure
|
1990
|
10
|
1.1
|
1991
|
9.6
|
0.8
|
1992
|
9.7
|
0.9
|
1993
|
6.1
|
0.3
|
Fig: A table of FMHSS of PHC financing from 1990 -1993 (NM).
The table shows that PHC financing
by the FMHSS has been as insignificant proportion of it’s total health
expenditure. It ranged from 1.1% in 1990 to more 0.3% in 1993. This compares
unfavourably with 465% to 73.4% allocated to the teaching and specialist
hospitals in 1990 and 1993 respectively. It is also observed that even in
absolute terms, the amount allocated by the FMHSS to PHC had been declining on
annual basic from N10 million in 1990
to only N6.1 million in 1993.
Consequently, activities that formed
integral parts of the Nigeria PHC include; the national programme on
immunization (NPI), oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) safe motherhood and family
planning activities, compilation of an essential drug list, and the national formulators
decree which make it an offence to manufacture, import, sell, display for sale,
or advertise any drug not on list. Others are the Guinea Worm Eradication
(GWE), and National AIDS Control programme (NACP), reduction of tuberculosis
and leprosy, Campaign Against River Blindness and the National Programme of Action
for the Survival, Protection and Development of the Nigerian Child.