Tansian University Journal of Arts, Management & Social Sciences

The prevailing poor health care challenges facing the Nigerian state brings to the fore the imperatives for strategic option in providing adequate medical services to the rural communities. The nature of the state and the public institutions through which legitimate power is exercised and enforced for the public good is germane to the study of public administration and public policy in any state (Smith, 2003). Therefore, the intricate webs of medical infrastructural decay in the health sector has remained alarming over the decades. This situation worsened during the Covid-19 and post Covid-19 pandemic era leading to the massive deaths of people in Nigeria and across the globe. The healthcare problems occasioned by the ineffectiveness of government co-operation and inter-sectional collaboration between the local governmentcommunity form the thrust of evaluating the paradox of medical services and Local Government-community participation in providing adequate primary health care in Anambra State. It is the objective of the study to make the primary healthcare delivery in the state more effective and efficient. The study adopts an efficiency theory framework as a foundation while methodologically using a descriptive and survey research design. The study relied heavily on the primary and secondary data which were analysed by the use of percentages, chi-square and descriptive statistics. It was revealed, that: the provision of medical equipment and drugs were affected by inadequate funding, inconsistent health policies, unqualified personnel, lack of incentives, lack of commitment by government and other stakeholders among others. It is recommended that the health sectors be adequately funded, appropriate medical tools should be put in place, qualified health personnel should be recruited, incentives schemes be provided while a strong commitment to implementation of all health policies should be consistently reviewed and strictly adhered to by the governments and other stakeholders for effective healthcare service delivery.

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