NAN-HG-22
Centres
By Emmanuel Antswen
Makurdi, Oct. 13, 2016 (NAN) The office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is building six primary healthcare centres in Benue state.
Mr Terkula Ati, Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and ICT attached to the SDGs office Makurdi, made the disclosure on Thursday.
He said that medical equipment needed for the take-off of the healthcare centres had been purchased.
He said that the healthcare centres were the last MDGs projects in the state that were constructed.
Ati attributed the delay in the construction of the projects to nonpayment of counterpart funding by the previous administration.
He said that execution of SDGs projects were yet to commence in the state because the incumbent government was yet to pay its counterpart funding for construction of projects.
“When the incumbent administration took over, it discovered that the last administration failed to meet up with the 2015 deadline for payment of counterpart funding for MDGs projects.
“As a result of that, we were unable to access the funds for the SDGs.
“You know the rule is that states must access and implement MDGs fully for SDGs to commence.
“So, the government had no option but to meet up the requirement to access the funds for the 2015 MDG projects which amounted to N1.2 billion, including the state counterpart funds.
“So far, we are building six primary healthcare centres in Agatu, Tarka, Ushongo, Ohimini, Gboko and Oju local government councils using the 2015 MDGs funds,” he said.
The SSA explained that each of the primary healthcare facility had capacity for 12 beds, modern laboratory centre and other facilities befitting a standard primary healthcare centre.
He said that six Toyota ambulances had also been purchased for the six hospitals. (NAN)
AEB/PD/AEA
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Edited by Archibong Asuquo