World Bank has praised Ogun state government for its sustained investment in primary healthcare, describing it as a critical foundation for building the state’s human capital and securing its future.

The Vice President Operations Policy and Country Services of the Bank, Galina Vincelette, gave the commendation during an official visit by the World Bank Vice President to Makun Primary Health Centre in Sagamu Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday. 

The Makun PHC is one of the 75 primary healthcare facilities in the state, upgraded by the World Bank under the IMPACT project. 

According to her, the facility represents more than bricks and mortar, but a deliberate effort to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare delivery in a sustainable way, noting that the impact of such investments goes beyond immediate healthcare outcomes.  

The World Bank Vice President who stated that strong primary health centres remains  the backbone of any resilient health system, equally commended the attention given to infrastructure and staff welfare at the facility, describing it as impressive and well thought out.

She said  “What you are doing here clearly shows how important it is to invest in human capital. You are building the future of Nigeria by saving lives, immunising children, and supporting mothers through their pregnancy journey.

“This investment is laudible and is a plus Nigerian health system particularly ogun state citizens . The infrastructure is impressive. I see clean water, clean bathrooms, and quarters where staff can rest and even sleep when necessary, she stated. These are the kinds of details that make a system work, not just exist.”

Earlier in her remarks, Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker,  disclosed that the state government has solarised Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) across the state to guarantee uninterrupted 24-hour healthcare services, as part of efforts to strengthen routine immunisation and child health delivery, describing the facility as one of the beneficiaries of the intervention.

According to her, beyond the 75 PHCs earlier highlighted under the World Bank programme, a total of 236 flagship health facilities across the state have receive financial and operational support to deliver integrated immunisation services on a biweekly basis within their host communities.

She explained that the supported facilities have also been empowered to integrate malaria testing, child health services, and the provision of essential child health drugs and immunisation commodities, even where malaria interventions were not initially part of the programme’s core design.

“All 75 PHCs supported by the IMPACT project were beneficiaries of a 7.5kva solar energy system to ensure we can back up the 24-hour service we promised our people. Makun Health Centre is proudly one of those supported facilities,” the commissioner said. To ensure sustainability, the communities are fully involved.

Dr Coker added that community ownership was deliberately built into the project through regular meetings of Ward  Development Committees (WDCs), stressing that community participation remains critical to the sustainability of healthcare interventions.

Also,  the Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Elijah Ogunsola applauded Governor Dapo Abiodun for paving way for the project, ascribing it's success to the visionary strength of the governor.

We are already receiving positive feedback from community members. This reflects the leadership of a Governor who understands the needs of the people and is committed to meeting them, supported by a Commissioner who consistently ensures quality and accountability,” he said.

The Project Manager of the IMPACT Project, Dr. Kofoworola Olajide, described the initiative as a landmark achievement in Ogun State’s drive to strengthen primary healthcare delivery. 

She explained that beyond infrastructure upgrades, the project also provided medical equipment to the PHCs, while facilities benefitted from decentralized facility funding for various PHC activities  to reinforce the delivery of effective service delivery and also improve demand generation.

Her words “The IMPACT Project has recorded a lot of landmark achievements in enhancing  the delivery of effective and quality services in Ogun state .