From Sule Aliyu, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Government has allocated the sum of over N30.5 billion to the health sector for the 2023 fiscal year, representing 15.08 per cent of the total budget of N202 billion proposed for 2023 fiscal year.
The state Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Aminu Hamayyo, stated this while giving a budget breakdown of the state sectoral allocation of the year 2023.
He said that the government would place high priority on primary healthcare services, adding that that efforts would be made to upgrade a lot of the health facilities and provide effective services as well as the availability of consumables.
“The government places a high premium on provision of effective, efficient, affordable, and quality healthcare services across the state because a healthy society is a wealthy society. “For the 2023 fiscal year, we have given the health sector 15.08 per cent of the total budget to enable us improve upon what has been achieved in the outgoing 2022 fiscal year.
“Yes, some of the facilities not yet up to the standard we want, but, we are working to ensure that we get the best out of what we have for now.
“We are still within the region of those areas that are considered with unfavorable indices in that respect, so, conscious of that we have made efforts and we will make none so that access to health services is provided to our citizens across the state.
“Let us also remember that there has been investment in terms of Healthcare personnel conscious of the fact that the ratio of patients to doctors and other health workers is not really very encouraging, the government has employed doctors and other health workers which have added up to the wage bills in terms of what we did for the health sector which has been factored into the budget,” the commissioner said.
He said that the health components of the Ministry of Agriculture, BASEPA and RUWASSA have been given different allocations which if added would make up 19.3 per cent of the total budget proposal.
The Triumph reports that Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad has presented a total sum of N202 billion as the 2023 proposal before the State House Assembly for approval.
The governor explained that the estimate tagged Budget of Accomplishment and Renewed Commitment has a capital expenditure of over N114 billion while N87 billion was earmarked for recurrent expenditure.
