Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health has the overall responsibility for Health care delivery in the state. This is within the context of the National Health System and the National Health Policy, drawn from the Nigerian Constitution. Essentially, the roles of the ministry are to provide promotive, preventive, rehabilitative and curative health care.

The Nigerian Health System has been segmented into three levels. We have the primary health care at the local government level. Their primary role is to provide preventive services such as community mobilization, health education, personal hygiene; environmental sanitation, immunization and immediate disease outbreak notification. They also serve as the first port of call in the provision of curative health care at the health posts, dispensaries, clinics and primary health centers’. Currently, the only health personnel at this level are Community Health officers (CHO) and other community health extension workers, such as Lab Technicians, Pharmacy Technicians e.t.c Health problems that cannot be handled at this level are to be referred to the secondary health facility which is the responsibility of the state government. It has long been recognized that, the entry point in our health system the Local Government health facilities are very weak. This informed the basis for introducing the Midwives Services Scheme (MSS). It is the intention of the state government to post medical doctors to the LGAs when the number of medical doctors available improves.

The second level health care is the Secondary Health Care. The type of health facility here are general hospitals. The State Government is responsible for this level of health care. Because health care is on the concurrent list of our constitution, each tier of government could establish and manage any facility whether primary, secondary or tertiary, if it has the capacity; but the primary focus should be its own sphere of responsibility. This is the reason why the state government established the V.V.F Centre to repair the many fistula cases we have and the Hafsat Eye Centre in partnership with Tulsi Chanrai(india) here in Birnin Kebbi to take care of eye care services. The expertise of the personnel here is much higher. We have Doctors in general practice, as well as, some of them in various specialties. Others are Pharmacists, Nurses, Midwives, Laboratory Scientists, Dental Officers, and Physiotherapists etc. Different levels of consultations, counselling and interventions can be conducted here, at the general hospitals.

The second level health care is the Secondary Health Care. The type of health facility here are general hospitals. The State Government is responsible for this level of health care. Because health care is on the concurrent list of our constitution, each tier of government could establish and manage any facility whether primary, secondary or tertiary, if it has the capacity; but the primary focus should be its own sphere of responsibility. This is the reason why the state government established the V.V.F Centre to repair the many fistula cases we have and the Hafsat Eye Centre in partnership with Tulsi Chanrai(india) here in Birnin Kebbi to take care of eye care services. The expertise of the personnel here is much higher. We have Doctors in general practice, as well as, some of them in various specialties. Others are Pharmacists, Nurses, Midwives, Laboratory Scientists, Dental Officers, and Physiotherapists etc. Different levels of consultations, counselling and interventions can be conducted here, at the general hospitals.

The third level health care- the tertiary, is the responsibility of the Federal Government. All Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centres and Specialist Hospitals under the Federal Government fall under this group. These hospitals provide specialized health care services.

The Ministry has total staff strength of about Two thousand (2000).

The department is responsible for Drugs Specification, Quality Assurance, procurement of drugs and medical supplies and administration of drugs. Its other functions include; registration of Pharmacist and PPMVL, Drug Abuse Control Activities, DRF, Food and Drug Information Centre, Rational Drug Use, Task Force on Counterfeit and Adverse drug Reactions Reporting. It has staff strength of 131 including 8 Pharmacists, 113 Pharmacy Technicians. There are only 2 watchmen and 8 labourers. The department also has 7 casual labourers.

The department is responsible for overseeing medical, laboratory and dental services in the hospitals. It advises on medical treatment here in Nigeria and abroad. It is also responsible for registration of private clinics and hospitals. It has a total of 423 medical, dental, x-ray, and laboratory personnel out of which 108 are doctors including 6 Consultants. There are 23 privately registered hospitals, clinics and laboratories in the state.

The department handles matters relating to nursing and midwifery profession in the state and enforcement of standards. It has a total of 491 staff consisting of 44 Nurses/Midwives employed on contract appointment while the rest are nurses and midwives, nursing assistant. At present, the department pays allowances to student nurses on training at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birnin Kebbi and Sokoto respectively.

Matters relating to control of epidemic and endemic diseases, immunization, health education, nutrition and other primary health issues are vested in the department. It relates with a range of development partners such as the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Funds for Population Activities (UNFPA), World Health Organization (WHO), and European Union Partnership to Reinforce Immunization, COMPAS, The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLM) Doctors without Boarders, Sight Savers International, Africa Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) and Jimmy Carter Foundation. It has a current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TLM, Sight Savers International and Doctors without Boarders. It has staff strength of 280.

In 1996 Kebbi State established Hospital Management Committees for each hospital. T here is an edict on this. At the same time the law in Kebbi State, also provides for a Hospital Management Board. Both edicts are still in the laws of Kebbi State.

Currently, however it is the Hospital Management Committees that are operational. There are arguments against and for both systems. The Health Services Management Board is highly centralized and delegates little financial responsibilities to the hospital management. With the Hospital Management Committees hospital staff and the local community are delegated to manage the hospital with supervision from the Ministry. The Hospital Management Committees can be effective if funding for running costs is adequate, otherwise collapse of the system is eminent. For Hospital Management Committee to function effectively, proper funding is needed.

As a result the Health Management Committees system was favored to continue. M & E from the Inspectorate Dept. should be able to assess the efficiency of this system within 2 years; otherwise Hospital management board should be created for effective and efficient running of the hospitals. The Department of Inspectorate Services was created in 2008 in order to monitor, supervise, evaluate and provide periodic report to the ministry on:

The Department of Planning, Research and Statistics has extra tasks different to those in other ministries. The department is the repository of contract records; supervises construction works in conjunction with Ministry of Works and Transport and undertakes simple maintenance of building and equipment. It has staff strength of 196.

The services of professional departments are supported by one of the three regular departments found in every Ministry ie Personnel Management. The department of personnel Management performs similar functions as is found in other establishments.

This is another support service department found in every ministry and is concerned with finance and related activities

Although in Government gazette the Hospital is usually included amongst boards and parastatals, the Hospital has no board members and is therefore governed by a Hospital Management Committee just like other general hospitals in the State as stipulated by the Health Services Management Edict of 1995. However, the only exception is that while Principal Medical Officers (PMOs) are appointed by the State Ministry of Health, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Hospital is appointed by His Excellency the Executive Governor upon recommendation by the Head of the State Civil Service. The Chief Medical Director is the Accounting Officer of the Hospital’s Recurrent Expenditures, while the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health accounts for the Capital Expenditures of the Hospital. A Director of Finance and Supply approved and posted to the Hospital by the State Accountant General assists the CMD. The Hospital is therefore is a self-accounting unit under the State Ministry of Health.

Status:

Although in Government gazette the Hospital is usually included amongst boards and parastatals, the Hospital has no board members and is therefore governed by a Hospital Management Committee just like other general hospitals in the state as stipulated by the Health Services Management Edict of 1995. However, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Hospital is appointed by His Excellency the Executive Governor upon recommendation by the Head of the State Civil Service. The Chief Medical Director is the Accounting Officer of the Hospital’s Recurrent Expenditures, while the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health accounts for the Capital Expenditures of the Hospital. A Director of Finance and Supply approved and posted to the Hospital by the State Accountant General assists the CMD. The Hospital is therefore a self-accounting unit under the State Ministry of Health.

The Hospital is presently a 250 bed-capacity tertiary healthcare facility, serving a catchment population of over 5 million, covering Kebbi State and some neighbouring areas of Sokoto, Zamfara and Niger States.

Mission

To achieve patient satisfaction by rendering qualitative medical services through a highly disciplined and motivated professional workforce, and also prudent, efficient and effective management of resources.

Vision

A client-centred tertiary healthcare facility with evidence-based service delivery.

We have a group of dynamic individuals that operates on a daily basis and have day-to-day responsibility for managing other individuals and maintaining responsibility for key business functions of the ministry.

Here is our team that is responsible for putting together the business strategy and ensuring the business object of the ministry;