By Magnus Emuji
In a bid to deepen its stakeholders’ collaboration to improve healthcare services by ensuring accountability among healthcare service providers, a Civil Society Organisation on Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN) has paid advocacy visits to the Delta State Ministry of Health and the Delta State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (DSPHCDA).
Speaking during separate advocacy visits to the Ministry and the Agency, the Delta State Chairman of ACOMIN, Pastor Greg Sifo, reiterated the unwavering determination of the organisation to ensure improved healthcare service delivery across the public healthcare facilities ACOMIN was intervening in.
Sifo said that the primary objective of ACOMIN was to drive community support for the various public healthcare centres as well as ensure that there was accountability among the service providers.
He urged their partners in the Ministry of Health and Delta State Healthcare Development Agency to enlighten healthcare service providers on the need for them to put in their best in their duties and shun unnecessary extortion for drugs that were supposed to be given free of charge.
Earlier, the State Programme Officer of ACOMIN, Mr. Austin Uwede, informed the stakeholders that ACOMIN intervention was being carried out in 13 states in Nigeria, including Delta State, adding that three NGOs were involved in the project.
Uwede told them that Management Sciences for Health (MSH) was responsible for commodity supply in the healthcare facilities while the duty of ACOMIN was that of accountability and advocacy through synergy with the government and community leaders to ensure that the facilities are strengthened for optimum service delivery.
While saying that through ACOMIN’s interface with the leaders of Odovie, the community had provided 8 benches and 4 plastic chairs and a table which were not available in the facility before, Uwede explained that many people had been complaining that they were being charged for commodities that were supposed to be free in the GF supported facilities.
He, however, appealed to the Ministry of Health and the Delta State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to caution the service providers in the various PHCs to put a stop to such nefarious acts.
In their separate remarks, the Executive Director, Delta State Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Paul Yinkore and the Malaria Program Officer in the State Ministry of Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Julie Aniah commended ACOMIN for their efforts in strengthening the healthcare facilities.
They assured the team that their observations would be looked into and appropriate measures would be taken to ensure that no facility users were extorted by the service providers.
