The delegation from the Kenya Ministry of Health on a learning visit, has given a pat on the back to Society for Family Health (SFH) and Nasarawa State Government for the provision of exceptional healthcare service delivery to local communities through the IntegratE project.
IntegratE Project which is implemented by SFH in collaboration with the state government, is a proof-of-concept that Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) can provide a wider range of family planning and primary healthcare services than they are authorized to provide.
Speaking during the one-day learning visit in Keffi Local Government Area (LGA) of Nasarawa State, Nigeria, Dr Serem Edward, the leader of the Kenya delegation commended the state government for the exceptional implementation of the IntegratE Project.
He explained that said the visit was to know the procedures regularly taken by Community Pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors while administering implants to women in the state.
He noted that the Modern Contraceptives Prevalence rate in Kenya currently stands at 57 per cent which was what necessitated the government to embark on the learning visit in order to ensure that the issues of maternal and child mortality is completely tackled in the country.
Dr. Edward said, “Why we came here is because we really want to know how implants are administered by Pharmacists because we also want to bring the services closer to the population in our country.
“We realised that the intervention in Nigeria is important because it is in a position to offer services all the way to the communities where the issue of human resource is not adequate.”
Also speaking at the event, Dr John Damina, Permanent Secretary (PS), Nasarawa State Ministry of Health, appreciated the Kenya delegation for taking notice of what the state was doing toward increasing access to qualified healthcare services in the communities.
He explained that under the initiative, CPs and PPMVs who are closer to the people were trained and the initiative had significantly improved the quality of healthcare in the state.
Damina added that the project had helped the state in providing comprehensive healthcare services, including primary healthcare, maternal and child health, and disease surveillance.
The Permanent Secretary attributed the success of the project to the support from partners, like the Society for Family Health, and the state’s commitment to investing in its healthcare infrastructure and workforce.
He urged the delegation to build on the gaps and inefficiency of the project in the state to have a better model that the state can come to copy in the future to improve its model.
The Perm Sec further explained that the state embraced the project because it was meant to create more access to healthcare services.
“After all, conventional medical facilities and personnel were inadequate to cater to the growing population in the state.
“So, the capacity building had helped in quality healthcare services, thereby restoring the confidence of the public as the trained CPs and PPMVs were now providing proper services and making referrer where necessary,” he added.
Alsospeaking, Madawa Absalom, Director at the Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, welcomed the team from Kenya the state visit considering its significance in improving systems and making it more viable.
Absalom added that it was the outcome of learning that the state had built one of the biggest Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Center in the Northern Nigeria, established Drug and Supply Management Agency.
On her part, the Reproductive and Family Planning Coordinator of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health, Salome Aya commended the Healthcare workers from Kenya for coming to the state to learn the best approach on how to administer implants to their female citizens.
Aya narrated that so far, over 60,000 women have successfully accessed Family Planning care from Government healthcare facilities, Private Hospitals and Clinics, Community Pharmacists, and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors across the 13 LGAs of the state. (www.krestnews.com).