Boko Haram killed 25 health workers -NPHDA

The Federal Government has lost over 25 health
workers, mostly poliomyelitis vaccinators, to the Boko
Haram Islamic sect and other forms of insurgency since
the beginning of this year, Executive Director of National
Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Ado
Muhammad, has stated.
The government has also signed a $14 million US project
steering committee for the scaling up access to zinc and
Oral Rehydration Salts to accelerate treatment of
diarrhea in children under 5 years in five states of
Bauchi, Cross River, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger.
Muhammad, in an interview with The Punch in Abuja,
during the inauguration of the PSC with the Department
of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development in Canada,
however expressed optimism that the death of health
workers will not stop government from providing
healthcare services in the North East.
He said, “In the North East, as I have always said,
simply because of insecurity, insurgency and access problem
doesn’t mean healthcare services will not be provided. This
is a responsible government and as a very responsible
government, irrespective of wherever Nigerians may be,
we will strive to ensure that we reach them.
“In recent times, this year (2014) alone, we must have lost
more than 25 health workers. We are committed to saving
lives and will continue to make sacrifice. I want to say
that we have lost quite a number of health workers in
these locations (North East); for us we must see that as a
sacrifice and continue to save lives in Nigeria.”
He said the choice of the five states was premised on the
the high burden of diarrhea among children under five.
“The burden is high in these states for a number of
reasons; we have some challenges in terms of awareness,
we have challenges in terms of appropriate treatment, we
also have challenges in terms of health system. There is no
single factor that is countable but a combination of factors.
This program is set to tackle these problems and we believe
that with these states accounting for 30 percent of diarrhea
disease in this country, simple intervention will reduce it by
90 per cent and save more lives,” Muhammad stated.
The NPHCDA ED said the project would run for the
next three years and would work with states to
institutionalize the use of zinc and ORS in every primary
institution in the country.