Kano State government has condemned the ongoing act of stealing of public drugs and hospital facilities by some health officials in the state
Kano State Commissioner for Health, Abubakar Labaran Yusuf condemned this act at a workshop on Advancing Women’s Health in the State, regretting that the thefts, perpetrated in connivance with members of the public, have been undermining the free health care policy of the administration.
Speaking at the workshop organized by the Center for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI) and Pathfinder, Yusuf stressed that these free drugs are every too often taken out of stock by the officials while patients are made to go outside the facilities to buy the same drugs
He, however, assured that the State government is already taking several measures to address the situation, one of which is the adoption of the Electronic Medical Records, which would give access to all the patients benefiting from the free drug programme.
He appealed to the communities to put their eyes on their health facilities and the conduct of government officials even as he tasked the media to report any incident of stealing of these free drugs.
On women’s health, the Commissioner stated that only 30 percent of pregnant women in the State attend ante-natal care before pregnancy.
He attributed the high maternal mortality rate recorded in the state to the poor antenatal record, explaining that failure to attend ante- natal care gives room for unplanned delivery and allows for complications, which could lead to untimely death.
In his address, Senior Technical Adviser, (CCSI) Olayemi Abodurim said the workshop was aimed at interrogating the state government’s policy on women’s health while seeking ways to better the health of women and girls in the State.
