The Cross River Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) Project has donated 196 laptops to the state government.
Dr Paul Odey, the IMPACT Project Manager, who handed over the laptops to the state government on Friday in Calabar, said the donation was made to strengthen the state health information management system.
BRANDECONOMY reports that the IMPACT Project is funded by the World Bank with the aim to reduce malaria; maternal, neontal, infant and under-five mortality rates.
Odey said that the laptops were for onward distribution to personnel in the health records units across Primary Health Centres (PHC’s) in the 196 wards of the state.
According to the project manager, there are designated facilities with monitoring and evaluation officers that will take charge of the equipments.
“Most times you get flooding or fire outbreak in a facility, and everything, including the register is gone. But with these laptops, they are going to digitalise the entire system.
“All health records from OPD, antenatal care, immunisation, all will be recorded and put in a particular set at a digital health information system.
“The PHC director general and her team have established quarterly monitoring and evaluation to ensure the sustainability, functionality and accurate data capturing of these systems,” he added.
Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River, who received the gadgets, commended the World Bank for its contribution to the improvement of health services in the state.
Otu said that the newly-introduced IMPACT Project would further add impetus to feats already achieved through the symbiotic relationship between Cross River and the World Bank.
“Health has continued to be one of our very major priorities. It is true that without health, of course, we wouldn’t even have a state.
“That is why you can bear me witness that most of the projects that have come out in terms of counterparts funding, we have engaged all of them.
“We will continue to give that support, whatever it takes, to make sure that we do our best for our people.
“We have allocated over N5 billion in our 2025 budget to upscale all our primary health facilities.
“There are also plans for health insurance because we know that our health insurance is not where it’s supposed to be.
“We are working very hard to come out with the best health insurance for our people. Please, ensure that those facilities are put into use and not left as furniture in those offices,” he said.
Otu explained that the health insurance system to be put in place would involve local government chairmen, the ward councilors, and other stakeholders.
“Both in education and healthcare, we need to ensure that most of the things that are invested get right down to the people. So I want to thank the World Bank for these interventions,” he stated.
