The Rotary Health Community Challenge (RHCC) has taken its fight against three major childhood killer diseases to rural communities in Kebbi State.
Speaking during a visit to the Village Head of Dagimu in Argungu Local Government Area on Wednesday, Dr Dele Balogun, Country Lead of RHCC, said the team was in the village to monitor and evaluate the programme’s Malaria Diarrhoea Mitigation Programme.
Balogun, a public health physician, said the team was touring participating local government areas to assess the programme’s impact.
The Malaria Diarrhoea Mitigation Programme is a pilot intervention targeting malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia. It is being implemented in Kebbi and Akwa Ibom states.
RHCC is a three-year initiative aimed at reducing under-five mortality from the three diseases in Nigeria.
The country lead added that the team was visiting Kebbi alongside representatives of its funders, the Rotary Foundation and PATH, to assess the project’s impact on various communities.
“We are here in this village to see how the CHIPS agents are working in this community. We are also here to ask you some questions about their performance.
“We want to know their areas of strength and weakness. We also want to seek your suggestions on how we can improve the programme for its overall success,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Festus Adetonwa, Head of the RHCC Advocacy Committee, urged the community leader to identify any gaps in the programme to enable the team to make the necessary improvements.
He also sought the community’s support and cooperation to ensure the programme’s success.
Responding, the Village Head, Maigari Ma’azu-Dagimu, who spoke through Aliyu Barmo-Kwararo of the Ward Development Committee (WDC) in Lailaba Ward, expressed delight at the visit.
“We are satisfied with the work of the CHIPS agents. Their services have exposed us to many things. We now know where to take our children when they fall ill with conditions such as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia.
“We therefore appeal for an extension of the programme. We also appeal for more CHIPS agents in this community because we are benefiting from their services,” he said.
The team also visited Sarki Sani Model Primary School in Argungu, where additional CHIPS agents, focal persons and supervisors were undergoing training.
During the visit, the team interacted with the trainees to assess their understanding of the programme and expressed satisfaction with their enthusiasm and commitment.
The visit to the training venue further boosted the team’s confidence in the programme, particularly following the trainees’ responses to questions from the visitors.
