JDPC Nnewi Diocese, COMEN and Civil Society members, advocates for Fix My PHC in Anambra state

May 3

Awka, May 2, 2022 (MOI) In supporting the implementation of the healthcare goals of the new administration in Anambra State, Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC), Nnewi, Community Empowerment Network (COMEN) and Civil Society Organizations have paid an advocacy visit to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike in Awka.

The commissioner said that many deaths would have been prevented if there were functional Primary Health Centres (PHC’s) and General Hospitals for referrals.

He said that Gov. Chukwuma Soludo was passionate about getting the PHCs renovated so as to ensure that lives of Anambra people are saved.

“The governor is determined to ensure that the health sector of the state becomes the best.

“This administration comes with transparency and accountability which will attract people, especially the private sector to come on board to help renovate and work our PHC’s and have their names pasted on the work,” the commissioner said.

He said that one of the agenda of the present administration was to employ, retain, train and pay health workers well so as to enable a new visible dimension in the health sector of the state.

Dr. Obidike said that the state government has interacted with the Federal Government and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to bridge the gap that existed between them by working together even on immunization related issues.

He promised to work as a team with the civil society organizations toward the ‘Fix My PHC’ campaign.

The COMEN consultant on ‘Fix my PHC’ campaign, Mrs. Ugochi Ehiahuruike said that her team has been working together for over three year to ensure that the sanitary condition of the PHCs within the state were in place.

She said that the implementation and sustainability of the healthcare goals of the government would go a long way to straighten the service delivery of the PHC’s as it is an important health subsector of the state, which would help achieve the focus of the Anambra State Strategic Health Development Plan (ANSSHDP).

An officer with Civil Right Concern, Mr. Okey Onyeka said that his team was basically concerned more about the PHC’s and what was obtainable there owing to the fact that it is closer to the people yet they were not accessing much of the services of the PHC’s.

He enjoined every stakeholder in the health sector to take responsibility to make the system work.

He said that the PHC’s suffered challenges which includes inadequacies in infrastructure, management problems, poor staffing, poor motivation and funding, inadequate supply of drugs and sundries as well as dilapidated buildings.

Mr. Onyeka called on the government to help ensure that the counterpart funds were available to enable the state to access the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).

He urged the government to allow civil societies like COMEN, Ward Development Committee (WDC), others to be a part of the coordination for monitoring at the local government level so that PHC funds would be judiciously used to build back the confidence of the people toward the patronage of PHC’s.

Programmes Officer, JDPC, Nnewi, Mr. Onyekachi Ololo said that they are civil society organizations that work together with the community members to bridge the gap of advocacy and to ensure that things go well in the government community facilities. (MOI)