ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Government has reiterated its commitment of the State to ensuring that all pregnant women and children under 5 years of age in the State have access to free health care services through the instrumentality of the State Contributory Health Scheme.
The Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye, made this known during the commissioning of the rehabilitated Family Planning Section in three selected health facilities in Oshimili North Local Government Area by The Challenge Initiative (TCI), Nigeria, a non-governmental organization funded by the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation.
The Commissioner commended The Challenge Initiative (TCI), Nigeria for partnering with the State Government in improving maternal health through innovative family Planning models, saying it had the capacity to increase the number of family planning users in the State.
Addressing the pregnant women present at the ante-natal clinic, the Health Commissioner urged them to adhere strictly to counsels from the health workers on their feeding habits, medications and other instructions on what they ought to observe in order to have safe delivery saying that government was providing their ante-natal service at no cost to them.
Earlier, the State Programme Coordinator, The Challenge Initiative (TCI), Mrs. Nwanne Kalu, thanked the State for embracing the TCI business unusual model which according to her had placed the State the driver’s seat while TCI provides Technical Assistance from behind the scene.
She stated that Delta State was one of the first five States implementing The Challenge Initiative (TCI) in Nigeria and that they provided Technical Assistance (TA) to the State Ministry of Health through the Reproductive Health Unit to improve coordination, strengthen health programmes and specifically improve their Family Planning indices.
Speaking further, she said that with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, the Initiative was implemented using a three-pronged approach of advocacy, demand generation and service deliver.
According to her, advocacy sought to provide the enabling policy environment for implementation while demand generation aimed at creating demand to drive uptake of Family Planning (FP) services and service delivery aims at improving access and quality of care provided to FP clients at health facilities.
She said that one of the key deliverables under the Service Delivery Thematic Area was the 72 hours Makeover of selected facilities which commenced with the makeover of three facilities namely Ibusa General Hospital, Okpanam Comprehensive Health Centre and Illah Primary Health Centre all from Oshimili North LGA.
The Programme Coordinator revealed that TCI through the State earmarked twenty-six (26) health facilities across the State as beneficiaries of the 72 hours makeover saying, “Today we are commissioning the first phase which comprises of three health facilities namely: Government Hospital, Ibusa; Comprehensive Health Centre, Okpanam; and Primary Health Care Centre, Illah all in Oshimili North Local Government Area.”
She said that the ‘Family Planning Unit:72-Hours Clinic Makeover was an idea borne out of passion for improved health reproductive service and work with State Governments in different part of the State.
The State RH Coordinator, Dr Christian Tetsola, on his part said that Family Planning Unit 72-Hour Clinic Makeover is an idea borne out of passion for improved health reproductive service and work with State Governments in different part of the country.
Mrs. Kalu explained that the Initiative covered areas that affect family planning and taking into consideration the integration of other service areas such as the Labour ward, Immunization and Ante-natal Units.
Others, according to her included renovation of the selected facility, provision of furniture and medical equipments and other things that will lead to improved and quality services for the family planning clients.
The State RH Coordinator, Dr Christian Tetsola, on his part said that Family Planning Unit 72-Hour Clinic Makeover was an idea borne out of passion for improved health reproductive service and work with State Governments in different part of the country.
He said that under its Service Delivery Thematic Area the Initiative uses a window period of 72-Hours (3days) to provide family planning equipment, furniture and renovate the facility with the view to making it conducive for the service providers and clients that access health care.
Explaining further, he said between the close of business day on Friday and the resumption of work on Monday, staff and visitors to the health facility come to see a transformed facility against what was on ground before the weekend started.
