By Lizzy Carr
A drive seeking to integrate family planning uptake and expansion of Primary Health Care Services has been flagged off in Bauchi State.
The program tagged the ‘IntegratE 2.0 project’ will work with 400 proprietary patent medicines vendors PPMVs and 20 Community Pharmacies CPs to integrate family planning uptake in the state.
Speaking at the flag-off and stakeholders inception meeting Thursday in Bauchi, The Regional Manager North East IntegratE 2.0 project, John Ekele said the project seeks to advance the quality of family planning services as provided by community pharmacies and proprietary patent medicines vendors.
The intervention which is in 11 states of Nigeria is been implemented by a six-member consortium led by Society for Family Health with funding from Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Regional manager said the project with a life span of 5 years was first piloted in other states between 2017-2021.
“The success recorded in the pilot states gave reasons for its scale up to the North East which made Bauchi a beneficiary”.
He added that the project will use three strategies that include, creating a enabling environment through policy formulation, strengthening service delivery, research, and monitoring and evaluation.
“We will train and work with 400 proprietary patent medicines vendors ( PPMVs) and 20 Community Pharmacies in Bauchi State.”
The primary Health Care Services expansion will cover malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and malnutrition
Bauchi State Technical Advisor Umar Abdulrazak said the inception meeting is to introduce IntegratE 2.0 to the state and facilitate the collaborative selection of Local government areas where the project will be implemented.
He said the project will pilot new approaches to promote the integration of family planning and PHC services into Community Pharmacies and proprietary patent medicines vendors.
The Bauchi State Commissioner of Health Dr Sabiu Abdu Gwalabe assured of the government’s commitment to provide the enabling environment for them to implement the project.
The project will be implemented in ten local government areas of Bauchi State.
