Local Government and Health Care Delivery. (a Case Study of Ikenne Local Government Area 2015-2020)

Abstract of Local Government and Health Care Delivery. (a Case Study of Ikenne Local Government Area 2015-2020)

This study examined local government and health care delivery. In Nigeria, local government is the third tier of government whose major responsibility is to provide adequate services to the rural inhabitants. Health care delivery is a very important function which the local government is meant to provide to the people at the grass root and which delivery ought to be ample, efficient and constant. The local government is very fitting for this function bearing in mind its proximity to the people. Though, amid these lofty goals, the practice of primary health care is constrained as the objective of primary health care in Nigeria was to provide easily reached health for all. Regrettably, this is still to be attained in Nigeria and to be unrealistic in the coming decade.

The research objectives were to; examine the impact of local government powers and responsibilities in the provision of primary health care services; assess the constitutionally vested responsibilities of local government on health care delivery; identify the challenges affecting the quality of health care services; and to determine the measures through which local government can respond efficiently to the challenges of Health Care delivery in Ikenne local government area of Ogun State. This research work made use of qualitative source of data, through which data were gathered using journals, reports, articles, newspapers, treaties, textbooks and various statutes which would be obtained from online sources.

The findings showed that, lack of finance and adequate health care facilities, lack of community participation, lack of essential drugs and basic equipment, misuse and abuse of the scarce resources, lack of qualified and competent health workers and lack of welfare incentives for workers are the challenges affecting the quality of health care services in Nigeria. Lastly, the study found that, local government should be given free autonomy and be made independent; and the excessive interference of the state governors should be eliminated in order to allow the council heads to govern and manage their natural resources.

The study recommends that, provision of essential drugs and strengthening of the drug revolving fund should be a priority. The local government should be more inward-looking and aggressive in the area of internally-generated revenue, in order to reduce the reliance on the federation account in financing health programmes. Lastly, the Nigerian health policy makers should give top priority to the training of more rural health workers so as avoid the movement of rural health workers from the rural communities to the urban centres.