The Oyo State Government has faulted criticism of its primary healthcare delivery by the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation, insisting that the state has recorded significant progress in healthcare reforms, infrastructure and service delivery.
The government said the criticism was misleading, pointing to the recruitment of 3,933 health workers, implementation of the Primary Healthcare Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy and improvements in key maternal and child health indicators as evidence of its performance.
It maintained that Oyo had become one of the leading states in primary healthcare reforms, adding that its interventions were backed by documented achievements rather than political claims.
As part of the reforms, the government said it established the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board in 2015 and strengthened the legal framework for implementing the PHCUOR policy.
It also said the management and administration of primary healthcare personnel had been transferred to the board, while minimum service standards, monitoring systems and supportive supervision had been introduced across the 33 Local Government Health Authorities.
The government identified the recruitment of 3,933 health workers, including doctors, nurses, community health officers, pharmacists, nutrition officers, ambulance drivers and support staff, as one of the major interventions of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.
On healthcare financing, it said the state had established a legal framework dedicating 7.5 per cent of local government statutory allocations to primary healthcare programmes, describing the arrangement as a sustainable funding model.
The government also dismissed claims of poor performance under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), saying Oyo remained compliant with the programme’s requirements, including counterpart funding, Direct Facility Funding protocols and quarterly performance reporting.
It added that the state continued to receive BHCPF disbursements and had not been sanctioned for violating the programme’s operational guidelines.
On infrastructure, the government said several primary healthcare facilities had been renovated, upgraded and equipped, while efforts were ongoing to ensure that residents had access to functional health facilities in every ward.
It also listed mental health, dental care, eye care, adolescent health, geriatric health and school health services among the areas incorporated into the expanded primary healthcare package.
The government further cited improvements in nutrition indicators as evidence of progress in maternal and child healthcare.
According to the figures it presented, child stunting declined from historical estimates of between 34.7 and 37 per cent to 26.8 per cent in the 2025/2026 MDHS report.
It said the reduction was even more pronounced under the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) programme, where stunting reportedly fell from about 34 per cent at baseline to 23.1 per cent.
The state also reported that wasting prevalence dropped from 14.4 per cent in the NDHS 2024 to 6.6 per cent in the MDHS 2025, while under-five underweight prevalence declined from 26.1 per cent to 17.7 per cent.
It added that minimum meal frequency among children increased from 11.4 per cent to 39.4 per cent, while the proportion meeting the minimum acceptable diet rose from 5.8 per cent to 12.9 per cent.
On maternal and child nutrition, the government said it had expanded micronutrient supplementation, nutrition counselling and dietary education for pregnant and breastfeeding women through primary healthcare facilities and community platforms.
It also disclosed that Oyo committed ₦227 million in UNICEF matching funds for the implementation of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS).
Vitamin A supplementation coverage among children also reportedly increased from 39.1 per cent to 69.4 per cent.
The government said it had continued to invest in digital health infrastructure through the provision of computers and other equipment, training of healthcare workers and gradual introduction of electronic medical records in primary healthcare facilities.
It added that hundreds of primary healthcare facilities were currently operating under the BHCPF programme, with additional facilities recently approved following assessments by relevant federal authorities.
Other interventions highlighted by the government included strengthened disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, community participation through Ward Development Committees and coordinated responses to public health challenges.
The government insisted that these interventions contradicted the allegations of poor healthcare delivery, maintaining that its priority remained the development of an accessible and people-centred healthcare system for residents across the state.
Kehinde Ayanboade
Kehinde Ayanboade is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Naija Metro News, with over eight years of experience covering Nigerian politics, crime, legislative proceedings and metropolitan affairs.
