35% of health facilities in Borno destroyed by insurgents, says WHO

Over 250 out of about 743 health facilities in Borno State have been destroyed by the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the North East region of Nigeria.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a report released yesterday said 35 per cent of the 743 health facilities in Borno have been destroyed, 29 per cent partially damaged and only 34 per cent are intact. About 100 temporary health facilities have been set up to serve people in these areas. Forty-nine of these are emergency clinics for displaced people living in camps.

According to the report, out of the 481 health facilities that were not destroyed, 31 per cent of them are not in good condition. Almost 60 per cent of health facilities have no access to safe water, 32 per cent do not have water at all and 73 per cent do not have enough chemical to purify water.

The report noted that the United Nations and partners need $94 million (N28.7 billion) to provide health services to six million people, more than half of them children.

“Of this figure, WHO needs $31 million (N9.46 billion) to deliver its response plans in 2017,” it stated.

Meanwhile, the 4.15 per cent allocated to the health sector in the 2017 budget proposal falls short of the minimum 15 per cent recommended by the Abuja Declaration of 2001 decided by African heads of state at a meeting.

The Guardian learnt that this is however an improvement on the 2016 budget when 3.73 per cent was allocated to health.

There are doubts that the 4.15 per cent, which is about N302.5 billion would not be adequate to meet the sector’s goal of universal coverage through increasing access to health insurance by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and strengthening primary healthcare system.