Kano state is set to implement the Minimum Service Package (MSP) policy document with a view to strengthen primary health care in the state, Dr Aminu Tsanyawa, the Kano commissioner for health, has said.
The commissioner stated this on Tuesday at the opening of a one-day Kano Primary Health Care Investment Summit 2021, held at the government House, Kano.
Tsanyawa said that primary health care had been identified as the entry point to address the priority health needs of the majority of citizens.
“It has been identified as the best way to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the minimum standards for Primary Health care in Nigeria.”
“The document was developed by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), through collaborative efforts of stakeholders under the Federal Ministry of Health”, he said.
He added that the concept of the MSP was rooted in the need to provide a package of public health and clinical interventions, which were not cost effective and that it defined a package of service to be provided at each level of care within the Primary Health Care system.
In his remarks, the Executive Director, Kano Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr Tijjani Hussaini, said Kano was the first to implement the package in the country, as it conducted a survey in order to upgrade the state’s health facilities.
Hussaini highlighted the need for purposeful investments into primary healthcare and called for social responsibility in implementing the MSP document.
Development partners, such as World Health Organization (WHO), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and other organisations, all pledged support to the cause, in their good will messages.
The theme of the investment Summit was: “Strengthening Primary Health Care towards attainment of Universal Health care through full implementation of Minimum Service Package (MSP)”, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported. (NAN)
