Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) will partner with the Government of Anambra State on improving maternal and child health and other health service delivery in the state.
The partnership is part of the strategies for the second phase of the project on Strengthening Public Accountability for Result and Knowledge (SPARK 2) in Anambra state.
The project which is supported by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) has the Community Empowerment Network (COMEN), with the Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) Nnewi, Civil Rights Concern (CRC), and other civil society organisations as its Network of Health Partners in the state.
Speaking during their visit to the Ministry of Health at the Jerome Udorji State Secretariat, Awka, representative of JDPC Nnewi and SPARK 2 Project Manager, Mr Onyekachi Ololo said the intention of the call for partnership was to collaborate with the state ministry of Health and to strengthen the link with the Community Agency – COMEN – at the grassroots towards lifting maternal and child healthcare delivery in the state.
Mr Ololo said that collaborating with the State Ministry of Health will ensure that the state does not backslide, but strengthen community-level efforts in oversight, advocacy and resource mobilisation for maternal and child health interventions.
The COMEN Representative who also is a WDC Chairman of her health facility, Oriaku Atuenyi Ogoamaka, affirmed that by enhancing access to maternal healthcare, SPARK 2 health component aims to support them at the community level to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
She also said the efforts will improve healthcare seeking behavior of women and girls, and ultimately foster a healthier population in the state.
Earlier in her opening remarks, COMEN SPARK Project Consultant, Mrs Ugochi Ehiahuruike, said that collaboration between CSOs and the State Government will enable the partners reach a greater heights and number of beneficiaries, adding that the overall goal is to promote access to maternal and child health and healthy living in the state.
She assured that the programme will work in tandem with the existing government programmes on maternal health, supporting and leveraging their initiatives to maximize impact.
Responding, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, said the programme is in line with the healthy living campaign of the state government, stressing that the state is ready to partner with any organisation that has the good of the people and interest of the state at heart.
Furthermore, he said: “We have recruited more health workers to help make workflow better at the PHCs. We are now doing monthly training of health workers via zoom and webinar. It is a continuous programme that aims to improve capacity on the job.”
Obidike also said the state’s telemedicine has taken off and assured that very soon it will expand to all the local government areas of the state.
