The Medical and Health Workers Union said that government has to rise up to its responsibilities by providing facilities and budgetary allocation to primary health care delivery if the country's health indices are to improve.

Hundreds of members of the union in red shirts walked through Abuja's central district to create awareness on how "citizens could access health care delivery," as part of activities marking the union's health week.

"The centre point of our engagement is how to improve health care in the primary health level," said Dr Ayuba Wabba, president of MHWUN.

"Human factor is important, and we have addressed the issue of the attitude of our members towards their work. We are now looking at the work environment--policies and programmes in place to improve quality, thereby narrowing down to primary healthcare."

He noted that with the deteriorating state of the PHC, illnesses that should be easily treated were being pushed onto secondary health care "because of the collapse of the primary health care."

The union also laments that spending on health is yet to reach the 15 percent of national budget agreed upon by African states when it signed the Abuja Declaration more than a decade ago.

As part of its weeklong celebration, the union also visited Karu Children's Home, to donate food items, toiletries and cash gifts to the management to enable it care for its children "in such homes and so they can as well feel the impact of such celebrations," Omokhuale explained.