By Lizzy Carr, Bauchi
The USAID Integrated Health Project (IHP) has introduced health facility-based training for health personnel in 323 primary healthcare centers (PHC) in Bauchi state.
The Bauchi State Director, Dr Alhassan Siaka stated this at a two-day workshop organised for journalists on health governance reporting in Misau local government area of Bauchi, by USAID-IHP on Monday.
USAID-IHP has its intervention integrated on Reproductive Health, maternal, New-born, Child Health, Malaria and Nutrition (RMNCH+MN) in the state.
According to Siaka, the initiative was to provide technical support without hindering healthcare services to women and children, adding that the training had focus on maternal and newborn and child health, child-birth spacing in 14 local government areas in the state.
He said that the ongoing training commenced in September 2020 and it’s expected to be completed in April 2021 while the remaining six would commenced in earnest.
The director said that a practical approach was used with unique modules for all the sessions to provide service with practical demonstration clients.
Siaka said that the criteria for the facility training was that benefiting PHC must have at least three health personnel.
“IHP is conducting facility based training to healthcare providers in 323 PHC to ensure that they don’t leave the facility that can create a gap in creating service.
“The training is conducted in 14 local government areas of maternal, newborn, child health and Child Birth Spacing while training in the remaining six LGA will soon commence.
“IHP has an accountability mechanism tool and the report absenteeism to be the highest complain on as feedback,” he said.
Siaka also said that IHP has trained master trainers on various healthcare components within state officials as a sustainability measure.
He said that data managers were trained on the various tools for timely and quality health data.
He commended the Bauchi state Government for its prioritizing healthcare services in the state.
Speaking on key interventions,the State director said that IHP has supported the state on Health Financing,development of Health Management Information System(HIMS) from 2013 to 2019 version.
Other interventions supported by IHP were capacity building at various levels and Supply of commodities, demand creation and mobilization.
The training of Editors and Media Reporters on health Governance Reporting was supported by IHP intergrated health services for them to understand what is working in health facilities areas of gaps in order to advocate to relevant stakeholders to take necessary action.
“The media is key is providing information to allow community members take informed decisions about their health”.
He said Reproductive Maternal Child Health plus Nutrition and malaria RMNCH+NM interventions through community and primary health care platforms could reduce 77% of maternal newborn child deaths and still births that are preventable by essential maternal Newborn Child health packages.
Earlier,the Knowledge Management Specialist of IHP,Mr Boniface Kassim said that the objective of the training was to update journalists on RMNCH+MN activities, improve access to PHC services, strengthen health systems reporting PHC services and increase quality of PHC services.
In her remarks, Leader of the Team, Elizabeth Carr in her presentation titled, “Media Coverage of RMNCH +MNCH: Issues in Bauchi state”, said journalists as the voice of the people, should continue to mainstream issues of women and children in their reportage.
