In an historical miles stone, Rivers State has emerged as the South-South Zonal Leader in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Primary Healthcare (PHC) Leadership Awards, marking the third consecutive year the state has topped the zone for outstanding performance in primary healthcare delivery.
The recognition was announced at a ceremony held at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja according to the post shared on Saturday.
It indicated that the event was organised by the NGF in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), with support from the Gates Foundation, UNICEF and the Aliko Dangote Foundation.
At the event, Rivers State was ranked the highest nationwide in Indicator 13, which measures consistency in cascading the PHC Leadership Challenge to local government area leadership.
The state also stood out as the only one in the country to score above the national average in nine out of the 13 assessed indicators, reflecting broad-based strengthening of its primary healthcare system.
Key areas of strong performance included the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) structures and services, availability and management of human resources for health, frameworks for quality of care, access to essential health commodities and medicines, commitment to improving food and nutrition outcomes, and regular monitoring visits to PHC facilities by the Executive Governor.
The PHC Leadership Challenge, which commenced in 2023, assesses states annually using 13 performance indicators. Awards are presented to the best-performing state and first runner-up in each of the six geopolitical zones, alongside a national award for the overall best-performing state.
In total, the annual awards carry a combined value of 6.1 million dollars, aimed at incentivising sustained improvements in primary healthcare delivery across the country.
