Lawrence Ndubeze, Awka
Civil society groups in Anambra State have decried what they described as poor funding of the healthcare sector, especially primary healthcare centres (PHCs), and called on the state government to increase budgetary allocation and timely releases to the sector.
The concern was raised in Awka during a stakeholders’ meeting under the Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK II) project, implemented by Civil Rights Concern (CRC) in collaboration with Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) Nnewi, Community Empowerment Network (COMEN), and supported by the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Executive Director of CRC, Mr. Okey Onyeka, said Anambra had fallen short of the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15 percent of the state budget to the health sector.
According to him, “The releases made to the healthcare sector fall far below the 15 percent commitment. PHCs currently survive mainly on the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) from the Federal Government.”
He noted that although about 60 percent of the 2024 health budget was reportedly funded, earlier years performed much worse.
“For the first two quarters of 2025, funds have been released only for overheads and personnel costs. We hope that the third-quarter release will include interventions for the PHCs,” Onyeka said.
He disclosed that stakeholders under the SPARK project are currently reviewing the state’s primary healthcare budget to determine which items were funded and why critical ones, such as drugs, equipment, and capacity-building programs, were neglected.
Onyeka urged the state government to make healthcare, education, and food security top priorities, stressing that maternal and primary healthcare funding “should not be delayed or compromised.”
He called on the government to release pending interventions, adequately train healthcare workers, and fund programs that improve maternal and child health outcomes across the state.
