FCTA lauds networks for healthcare community interventions

By Justina Auta

The Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) has commended efforts of the AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) networks for their community interventions in addressing gaps and improving healthcare systems in communities within the FCT.

The authority made the commendation at a media parlay organised by the Civil Society on Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), TB Network, and Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Mrs Elizabeth Ladipo, the Deputy Director, Advocacy Communication for Social Mobilisation, FCT Primary Healthcare Board, said their support had improved community ownership in the management and care of PHCs in communities.

“ACOMIN have been doing a lot of sensitisation and work at community levels, which has improved the services rendered at our various PHCs,” she said.

Zainab Ibrahim, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, FCT Action for Control of AIDs (FACA), said the interventions in HIV/AIDS sector has ensured the scale up Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMCT) and provision of test kits in over 200 facilities.

“Through our collaboration, we have been able to get the impact of your interventions in the facilities that you are making interventions.

“We have been able to get pregnant women that were supposed to be tested, but were unable to do so due to lack of commodities.

“And through these interventions and engagement we have been able to provide test kits to these facilities.

“We also want to inform the stakeholders here that there is also PMCT scale-up in all these facilities, especially those that are not having any partners that are implementing with them.

“So a scale-up is been carried out through the support of Federal Ministry of Health and in about 200 facilities,” she said.

Mrs Deborah Azeez, the Chief Health Promotion Officer, Public Health Department, FCTA, said the partnership with the various network has reduced the spread of diseases.

Azeez, however, advised the public to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 preventive measures to curtail the spread and eradicate diphtheria, anthrax and other diseases.

Mr Salifu Nathaniel, the TB Network Cordinator, on behalf of the networks, said adequate healthcare services at PHCs would address infectious diseases, especially amongst vulnerable population, remote and underserved areas.

Nathaniel noted the challenges of inadequate staffing, equipment, regular stock-outs of commodities and high treatment costs, significantly impact the quality of care and access to these essential services.

“These challenges require the attention and efforts of the government at all levels, the private sector and community members.

“We are calling on you, our media partners, to help amplify these to the hearing of decision-makers at national, state, local and community levels,”

He therefore called for increased funding and support for PHCs by government, private and philanthropists, religious organisations and community support to improve access to health care services.

He noted that through their contributions, they succeeded in improving behavioural change in terms of taking ownership and sustainability of PHCs, donated hospital consumables and non-consumables asxwell as increased deployment of CHEWs, nurses and midwives across the country.