Daily Trust (Abuja)
Theophilus Abbah
16 November 2008
(Page 4 of 4)
Rehabilitation of skill acquisition centres and training of unemployed youths in 6 pilot states:
Under this scheme youths are supposed to be trained in the following trades: GSM repairs, electric and gas welding, auto-tronics rice milling, fish farming, palm oil processing, yam flour process etc. A total sum of N1.6 billion has been earmarked for this project, which timeline is put as December 2008. In order to achieve this objective, NAPEP is expected to rehabilitate 18 skill acquisition centres in six pilot states and training 4,500 youths in various skills. When this reporter asked NAPEP to provide information on the locations of the skill acquisition centres and how the training programmes are being run, the agency's officials declined to provide the details, saying they would need to consult with higher authorities before they could release any information on the scheme. It was, therefore, impossible to state categorically whether or not this scheme is being implemented.
HIV/AIDS
Objective: Have halved by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of HIV/AIDS
Nigeria is one of the countries with high incidences of HIV/AIDS. As at 2005, when the last situation analysis was conducted, there were 2.9 million persons infected with the incurable virus, with about 500,000 of them in need of medical attention. On the African continent, Nigeria is second to South Africa in HIV/AIDS prevalence. Perhaps, this is one area in which the debt relief funds has been actively utilised, except in the case of 2008 budget which has been held down as a result of the bottleneck in the due process which has led to a delay in the release of funds. Apart from the MDGs funds, the department got donations from WHO, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, DFID and CIDA, to execute different aspects of the project.
According to Dr. Henry Akpan, of the Federal Ministry of Health, the HIV/AIDS section intended to achieve the following:
Statistics shows that one out of every 13 new HIV infections in the world occurs in Nigeria. Also, one out of every 14 deaths as a result of HIV infection occurs in Nigeria, and one out of every 14 adults and children living with HIV is in Nigeria. The geopolitical zones where HIV is prevalent include the North-Central, North-East, South-East and South-South, but there is no state or local government area where the spread has risen to the state of an epidemic. Urban and rural areas are almost equally affected. In some states, rural areas recorded high HIV prevalence than some urban areas.
Sunday Trust gathered that in 2006, out of a total budget of N4.7 billion allocated for the prosecution of HIV/AIDS programmes, a total sum of N3.525 billion was released by the MDGs office. In 2007, the department got the total sum allocated to HIV/AIDS to the tune of N4.47 billion, in addition to N670 million from the federal government for capital and recurrent expenditure. However, for the year 2008, out of a total allocation of N6.2 billion, as at the time of filing this report, only N2.2 billion had been released. The implication is that most of the projected activities for this year have not commenced. From this fund, in 2006, the sum of N3.4 billion was used for the procurement of Anti-retroviral vaccines (ARVs), local production of test kit (Trinity Biotech) and the training of different cadres of health workers in health facilities across the country. In 2007, the drugs and equipment procured cost the sum of N6.1 billion. For 2008, the priorities were for the procurement of more ARVs, test kits, laboratory reagents and consumables, drugs for treatment of opportunistic points, distribution of all HIV/AIDS commodities to service delivery points, training of different cadre of health workers in health facilities across the country, and the like.
In many rural communities in Nigeria there are actually massive enlightenment programmes in hospitals. Every patient who visits the hospital is given the choice of a free HIV test, and the result dictated to them. This is done under the Provider Initiated Counselling and Testing (PICT) scheme. The sick and women who visit hospitals for ante-natal care are offered HIV tests in maternity wards.
In 2008, activities in the HIV/AIDS section of the Ministry of Health actually came to a standstill as a result of the non-release of the remaining N4 billion budgetary allocations as at the end of October, 2008. For instance, the advocacy, communication and mobilisation department has not been engaged in mobilisation. Sunday Trust gathered that the few activities carried out were funded from the 2007 budgetary allocations. There was confusion, however, as to why the outstanding N4 billion was not released. It was gathered that the government department has not been able to satisfy the due process conditions for the release of the funds. Apart from the non-release of the budgetary allocations, some other setbacks facing the HIV/AIDS programme include epileptic power supply as there is no back-up generator; poor internet service; low human resources capacity; ignorance and fear; stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims, poverty among the people, the non-commitment to the project by the leadership of the country and the low access to service.
Most of the training and monitoring programmes earmarked for 2008 were never carried out. One indication of the slow pace of activities in the HIV/AIDS department in the Ministry of Health is the fact that since 2005, there has not been a comprehensive information on the situation of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Therefore, the ministry cannot provide a researcher with information on the current number of Nigerians infected with HIV as at 2006, 2007 and 2008. Information concerning the impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria, its projection and the factors driving the epidemic in the country is not available. Officials merely made deductions and projects based on the data obtained as at 2005 when the last National Situation Analysis of the Health Sector Response to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria was published by the Federal Ministry of Health.
Perhaps, the last aspect is more critical as a result of the fact that the primary health care centre projects have been bungled because of poor implementation. With many rural areas lacking access to medical facilities, and with the people having to travel for kilometres before accessing a secondary medical care centre, it is difficult for government to reach the rural poor. As a result of this situation, the Monitoring and Evaluation team in the MDGs office recommended a review of the HIV/AIDS programme. In its report on this situation, the M&E team said, "It is strongly recommended that the HIV/AIDS programmes be reviewed such that there is coordination between training and expanding HCT and ART sites on the one hand, and the procurement of HIV kits and ARVs on the other. No ARVs should be procured unless all preparations required to utilize them have been completed."
Government recognises the critical role that primary health care centres can play in the fight for the eradication of HIV/AIDS. In its 2005 situation analysis, the ministry of health said thus: "Primary Health Care is the backbone of the health care delivery system and the role of PHC in the health response to HIV and AIDS is vitally important. It provides an appropriate entry point for the people seeking care for management of STIs and opportunistic infections and for care givers who need advice and support on universal protection, nutrition and general care of the sick... The contribution to the HIV & AIDS response by PHC has not been well defined and appears to have been given little priority. OI drugs are generally not available and patients buy them from the market. A strengthened PHC response is vital with stronger links between the NPHCDA, the Department of Community Development and Population Activities and NASCP."
Assorted projects and their implementations:
From the assessment of the three major MDGs projects above, there is evidence that the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, which is the coordinating office for the utilisation of debt relief funds, is doing its best to ensure that funds are released and projects are executed, but there is a disconnect because the various ministries, agencies and government departments involved are not operating in tandem with the zeal of the MDGs office.
As a result, targets are not being met, making it difficult to believe some of the documents alleging that projects have been executed and completed. For instance, the MDGs office claimed that in 2006, 4,000 kilometre roads, mainly rural feeder roads were constructed nationwide, but investigations revealed that some of the roads were not completed, and contractors are owed a huge sum of N8 billion from 2006. As a result, no road project was executed in 2007 and 2008. The funds for feeder road projects in 2007 was not released, while as at October 2008, the year's budget for road construction projects under MDGs had not been accessed.
Also, the agency claimed that N20 billion was spent on rural and urban water projects, but investigation revealed that most of the water projects were not executed by contractors. For instance, in Taraba State, borehole contracts were awarded in eight communities in eight local government areas. Official figures indicated that N40 million has been paid as mobilisation fee for the projects, but there is no evidence that work has commenced on any of the projects. Some of these communities have complained to the governor and asked for a probe into the scandal. The state's House of Assembly officials said the contractors would appear before the parliament to give an account of their contracts, but it has not happened.
In the education sector, in 2005, about 145,000 teachers were given in-service training, for instance. About 40,000 others have been trained under the MDGs teacher's scheme. But many of these trained teachers are not absorbed by state governments, and in some places where they are being absorbed, they are not given appropriate salaries. The MDGs office has supplied Mathematics and Science equipments to nine schools in Nasarawa State. It has also released funds for the renovation of secondary schools and for the provision of furniture and conveniences. But an investigation showed that at Government Secondary Schools, Lafia and Nasarawa Egon, no renovations took place, in pite of the fact that the necessary funds were disbursed, allegedly through the Ministry of Education. At GSS Nasarawa Igon, as a result of inadequate Eurniture, students have to squat on the bare floor to receive lessons, in spite of the fact the funds had been released for the provision of seats in classrooms.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
