By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
Towards enhancing healthy competition aimed at improving health care services amongst service providers and primary healthcare facilities (PHCs)in Bauchi State, the State Health Contributory Management Agency (BASHCMA) has presented Merit Awards to 23 PHCs and 13 healthcare service providers across the state.
The Merit Award presentation event was held on Thursday 27th April, 2023 at the premises of the Agency in Bauchi, the State Capital.
The Executive Secretary of BASHCMA Dr Mansur Mustapha Dada the aim of the award presentation was to reward service providers and health facilities that have distinguish themselves through hard-work, efficient management of resources and productivity, as well as those that exhibited high sense of commitment in the quest of the agency to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) for all the citizens in the state.
Dr Dada said that the agency choose one primary healthcare per local government that have excelled and one general hospital per senatorial zone thus making a total of 23 health facilities. And that, for the health workers, the Agency awarded the best three BASHCMA desk officers in the LGs and also 10 of the Agençy’s staff, making 13 health workers.
According to the ES, BASHCMA, like the National Health Insulation Authority, has since commenced the implementation of the Scheme and that, at the moment the Agency three components, with two of components running concurrently with the enrollment of beneficiaries of the Scheme.
He said that under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund program , the Agency has reached all the 323 wards in the 20 LGAs of the state.
“As part of the performance appraisal, there is what we call punishment and reward system, so this is part of the reward system which we established in BASHCMA”, said Dr. Dada.
Speaking at the event, BASHCMA Chairman Governing Council, Ibrahim Umar commended the management of the Agency for organizing the merit productivity award saying that the award will motivate PHCs and service providers to put in their best in the management of scarce resources at the facility level.
He said that BASHCMA has become a reference point that other neighboring States are understudying, with a view to adopting some of the Agency’s best practices.
In a Goodwill message, the USAID IHP Task Order 3 Health Financing Advisor, Pharmacist Khalid Kasimu, appealed to the Bauchi State Head of Civil Service to take action in the immediate commencement formal sector component , so that they can start enjoying the benefits of health services at an affordable cost, adding that most of them are spending out of their pockets to access healthcare.
He also called on the Bauchi state government to release the equity fund and one percent to BASHCMA for the enrollment of the vulnerable population, pointing out that the vulnerable population accounts for more than 70 percent of the people of the state.