The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has handed over the renovated and expanded DISO Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State to the State Primary Healthcare Management Board (SPHCMB).
The intervention is part of efforts to improve healthcare infrastructure and strengthen access to quality primary healthcare services in the state.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kano, Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, urged residents and community leaders to take ownership of the facility and ensure its proper maintenance.
He said, “The sustainability of this facility depends greatly on the ownership and commitment of the community. We urge community leaders and residents to protect this investment and ensure that it continues to serve both the present and future generations.”
Ur-Rehman also called on relevant stakeholders to ensure that the facility was adequately staffed with skilled health workers and consistently supplied with medicines, vaccines and other essential commodities.
According to him, “It is important that we have the right health workers, regular availability of medicines and vaccines, and continuous monitoring of service delivery. These are essential to ensuring that this investment translates into better health outcomes.”
The UNICEF official said stronger community engagement would help preserve the facility and improve the quality and sustainability of primary healthcare services.
He said, “When government, development partners and communities work together towards a common goal, we can achieve meaningful and lasting improvements in healthcare delivery.”
Ur-Rehman acknowledged the contribution of the Global Fund to strengthening health infrastructure and service delivery, while reaffirming UNICEF’s commitment to supporting Kano State in improving the health and well-being of children, women and families.
The DISO PHC is one of five healthcare facilities renovated under a Global Fund-supported programme implemented by UNICEF.
The upgraded facility now has an expanded delivery room, laboratory, consultation room, nurses’ station, male and female wards, and separate male and female toilets designed to accommodate persons with disabilities.
Speaking on behalf of the Director-General of the SPHCMB, Prof. Salisu Ibrahim, the Board’s Director of Administration, Adamu Fate, commended UNICEF for the intervention.
Fate said, “We sincerely appreciate UNICEF and its partners for this important intervention. The renovation of DISO PHC will contribute significantly to improving the quality of primary healthcare services available to the people.”
He added that similar interventions across the state would strengthen healthcare infrastructure and improve service delivery at the grassroots.
Also speaking, the Ward Head of DISO Ward, Ahmed Bello, assured UNICEF and other partners that the community would protect and maintain the facility.
Bello said the community appreciated the intervention and would take responsibility for protecting the facility to ensure that the health centre remained functional and continued to provide quality healthcare services.
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