Muhammad Jabbi Kilgori
5 July 2009
opinion
Sokoto — The above captioned article, which appeared in a recent edition of the Weekly Trust, shouldn't have attracted much attention. However, the inaccuracies it contained and the context in which it was written negated the motives of the writer making the article run short of the much desired, sincere and balanced reporting expected of journalists.
The choice of Wamakko to launch the article makes it more suspicious of being crafted by the political antagonists and detractors of Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko's administration in Sokoto State. It was wraitten, or caused to be written, in order to discredit and deny the administration its laudable achievements in healthcare, rural roads and economic empowerment.
First and foremost all the villages mentioned are within two kilometers accessible link to Wamakko township with abundant private and commercial vehicles and a comprehensive primary healthcare centre. Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto State is also the closest to Sokoto metropolis with the Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) and many other private and public hospitals sited in it with over ten (10) ambulances readily available to intending users.
In actualizing its pledge of according deserving priority attention to healthcare, the Magatakarda administration allocated ten percent (10%) of the state's 2009 budget to the health sector. It procured and distributed 30 mobile clinics and 15 ambulances to local governments and healthcare facilities in Sokoto State thereby enhancing availability of mobile healthcare services to remote and hard to reach areas as part of a rural mobile healthcare (RUMCARE) programme. The administration also continues to up-grade and equips healthcare facilities to enhance access and quality of services.
Training and re-training of staff are on going including expansion and re-equipping of the School of Health Technology Gwadabawa and the School of Nursing and Midwifery to produce more lower and middle level manpower to serve in the rural health facilities. In terms of pay package, Sokoto State has one of the best health workers' salary in the north with many states struggling to emulate our package designed to enhance staff motivation for better quality service and higher productivity. This is because the Wamakko administration believes workers give their best when properly motivated.
The state government's free medicare programme for pregnant women and children under five (FREMCARE) is indeed accessible to all communities within the state in the 27 general hospitals and primary health centers of its implementation. In order to achieve her motive the writer denied the Ministry of Health the opportunity to explain the modes of operation of the free medical care programme and the successes it has recorded in significantly increasing pregnant women attendance of anti-natal clinics and the larger number of children immunized and treated against childhood illness and diseases. The state government is also working to ensure that primary healthcare services handled by the LGAs are well coordinated and improved to enhance accessibility and affordability of quality healthcare across the state.
Although no one can deny or doubt the daunting challenges in healthcare service delivery in the state but the inaccuracy of facts stated and sincerity of the writer leave much to be desired and has called to question the integrity both the article and its writer. This has made it pertinent to advice journalists who are really out to practice in the interest of the people to fully embrace the correct ethics of sincere and balanced reporting and avoid making themselves available as willing tools and accessories of disgruntled politicians in desperate desire of tarnishing the hard earned image, reputation and visible achievements of the Executive Governor of Sokoto State. This is very important because journalists have a very large audience and many believe what they read in the papers of heard over the radio as the gospel truth.
Alhaji (Dr.) Kilgori, Sokoto State's Commissioner for Health, writes from Sokoto.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
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.
