OYO STATE SPEAKER PROMISES PROMPT PASSAGE OF BILL TO ENHANCE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE AND MATERNAL HEALTH

The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon Michael Adeyemo, at a meeting with advocates in December 2016, promised prompt passage of the ‘Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) bill.
The Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) is working with Evidence for Action (E4A) to support the government of Oyo state in actualizing the legalization of the PHCUOR bill and the follow up implementation in the state. The project is supported by Population Action International (PAI) and titled “Primary Health Care Under One Roof Advocacy in Oyo State”.
The project focus is to strengthen primary health care service delivery and enhance maternal health status in Oyo state. The project is a pilot survey and now it’s in first phase of implementation and it involves advocacy visit to the key stakeholders in Oyo State including the Speaker Oyo State House of Assembly and other relevant stakeholders’ allies in the area of PHCUOR.
ARFH is working in collaboration with State Primary Health Development Agency to achieve the set objectives for the project. As part of the organizational mandate, ARFH team and the team lead, Evidence for Action paid a visit to the Oyo State House of Assembly and had a meeting with the Speaker of the House, Hon. Michael Adeyemo and the Chairman House Committee on Health, Hon. Silas Okunlola. The speaker said that Oyo State government values healthcare and would work at their utmost best to achieve quality healthcare services.
He said: “the Oyo State House of Assembly is delighted to be part of the PHCUOR initiative and we promise that the bill will be passed on or before end of December, 2016”.
ARFH team presented Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials on PHCUOR and ARFH’s 25 years report on capacity building for Health Development in Nigeria to the Speaker of the House of Assembly.
A follow up meeting was held at the State House of Assembly on 9th December 2016. The ARFH team, Dr Lanre Abass (Executive Secretary), Staff of the PHC agency, Honourable Abdulwasiu Musah (Deputy Speaker of the House), Honorable Silas Okunlola, (Chairman House Committee on Health), the Secretary to the Chairman House Committee on Health and Honorable Oseni (Clerk of the House of Assembly), were in attendance at the meeting. All corrections and inputs agreed on after inputs were made at the public hearing were reviewed in details and the final editing was done. The members of the house present also joined in promising prompt passage of the PHCUOR bill.