The Board of the Gombe State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (GoHealth) has approved the provision of interest-free loans to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state to address recurring drug stock-outs in public health facilities.
According to a statement by the Public Relations Officer of GoHealth, Mr. Dairus Samson, issued on Tuesday in Gombe, the approval was disclosed by the Executive Secretary and Team Lead of GoHealth, Dr. Abubakar Musa, during a pre-rollout high-level meeting with key stakeholders.
The meeting was attended by the Executive Secretaries of the Gombe State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (GSPHCDA), Dr. Abdulrahman Shuaibu, and the Gombe State Drug Management Agency (GODMA), Pharm. Abubakar Mohammed Hassan, as well as selected staff from the three agencies.
Addressing participants, Musa said the initiative was designed as a targeted financial support mechanism to strengthen drug availability at the primary healthcare level.
“GoHealth has initiated a plan to support PHCs through the provision of zero-interest soft loans. Repayment will be made through monthly deductions from their capitation, which will not exceed 30 per cent of the monthly allocation,” he said.
Musa explained that the intervention became necessary following reports from GoPharma indicating persistently low uptake of essential medicines by PHCs across the state. He added that feedback from health facilities during the last providers’ forum identified the existing cash-and-carry policy as a major challenge to timely drug procurement.
He noted that the initiative was intended to serve as a stop-gap measure to provide facilities with working capital, enabling them to promptly procure drugs from GoPharma and prevent stock-outs.
The executive secretary further disclosed that the GoHealth Board had approved not less than ₦100 million for disbursement as interest-free loans to eligible PHCs to improve medicine availability and overall service delivery.
To ensure transparency and compliance, Musa announced the establishment of a joint monitoring team comprising representatives of GoHealth, GODMA and GSPHCDA to oversee procurement processes and ensure that PHCs source drugs only from GODMA-approved channels. He warned that facilities found violating the directive would face sanctions.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of GODMA, Pharm. Abubakar Mohammed Hassan, assured stakeholders of adequate mechanisms to guarantee compliance and effective implementation of the initiative.
Similarly, the Executive Secretary of GSPHCDA, Dr. Abdulrahman Shuaibu, described the intervention as timely and impactful, pledging the full cooperation of PHCs across the state to ensure its success.
