Abuja- The Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Aminu Diko, has expressed the readiness of the commission towards the provision of basic health infrastructure services through Public Private Partnership.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by ICRC’s Acting Head Communications, Mrs Deborah Okafor.
According to the statement, Diko made this known when the management team of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) paid him a visit.
Diko said that the role of the ICRC was principally to regulate the procurement of infrastructure services through Public Private Partnership (PPP).
According to him, the private sector has been more actively involved in the provision of medical services in recent years.
He cited the successful concession arrangement between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and Garki General Hospital.
Diko, however, charged the agency to be painstaking in following through all necessary steps for a successful PPP.
“Patience is required to develop projects through the stages of PPP. Patience is also required to access private sector funds.
“We propose the setting up of a joint team to explore areas of possible cooperation,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Ado Mohammad, said the agency’s mandate includes the provision and regulation of primary healthcare centres across the country.
According to him, the agency also partners states and local government councils to provide basic health services through advocacy at the grassroots level.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
Mohammed said that PPP unit has been set up in the agency and solicited the support of ICRC in the area of expertise and capacity building.
He said the achievements of the agency were the successful handling of the Ebola outbreak and achieving a full year without a recorded case of polio in the country.
He said that the agency under his watch, successfully set up the Nigerian Private Sector Health Alliance, a private sector led initiative headed by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Mohammed solicited the cooperation of the ICRC in getting more private sector investments in the provision of mobile clinics and primary healthcare centres.
He said there were currently about 400 functional healthcare centres across the country that would benefit from private sector intervention in the provision and operation of the facilities. (NAN)
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