The Borno Government has commended the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for rehabilitating 166 healthcare centres across the state.

Sule Mele, The Executive Director of Primary Health Care Management Board (PHCMB), made the commendation in Maiduguri.

Mele said that the centres were some of those vandalised by Boko Haram insurgents.

He commended UNICEF for providing enabling working environment, state of art facilities, logistics as well as stipend for ad-hoc staff who work in the centres.

The director explained that the organisation had also constructed additional buildings in some of the healthcentres with a view to providing effective anti-natal care for expectant mothers.

He listed some of the centres to include Mashamari PHC, Ngala, Banki, Zannari IDPs clinic, Njimtilo, Mairi, Bulabulin, Gwange, I, II and III, Gamboru, 505 Housing Estate, Jiddari Polo, Konduga, Auno and Yerwa.

“UNICEF is one of the first organisation that came to support the government at the beginning of the insurgency, by providing clinics in the IDPs camps.

“The UNICEF’s collaboration with the state government has helped to ameliorate the multiple health challenges being faced.

“They support us with drugs and commodities and also logistics as well as engagement of some ad-hoc staff to run the facilities in Intrrnally Displaced Persons camps and liberated areas” he said.

Mele added that UNICEF was also committed to imminisation, social mobilisation, and supplementary campaigns against disease outbreaks in the state.

“It was as the result of this strong collaboration that we are able to take primary health care services beyond the rural communities to the IDPs, and areas that are compromised, by providing makeshift clinics.

“A lot has also been achieved in Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), leading to the drastic reduction of malnourished children in the affected communities.”