Admin|23 February 2016|4:10pm
The first community health town hall meeting in Cross River State and Need Assessment tour began yesterday 22nd February, 2016 in Calabar Municipality LGA Council hall, with the presence of Special Adviser to the Governor on Community and Primary Health Care, Dr Betta Edu, the Local Government Chairman, Hon. Donatus Etim, Vice Chairman, Hon Caro Etim, The chairperson, Mrs. Kim Donatus Etim, Leader of Legislature, Hon. Elder Efiok Eyo, Supervisor of Health, Elder Ekpo Edet and all others stakeholders in the LG.
The Chairman in his welcome remarks eulogised the State community Health team led by the S.A and praised the effort of the Cross River state governor, Prof. Sen Ben Ayade for keeping to his campaign promise of providing quality health care delivery to the door step of everyone in the state. According to him, the process has already started with the Needs Assessment tour and town hall meeting of major health stakeholders in his LGA, Calabar Municipality. He Urged the state government to improve the facilities across the health centres in the ward.
The Special Adviser, Dr. (Mrs.) Betta Edu thanked the Chairman for receiving the health team in his LGA, promising to carry out thorough assesment of health facilities across the Local Government seeking cooperation from Health Workers and relevant stakeholders inorder to fulfill the vision of Sen. Prof Ben Ayade, who has resolved to make primary healthcare accessible to Cross Riverians.
The Special Adviser noted that engagements with communities is a bottom-up approach, whose essence is to assess health facilities, dialogue with stakeholders about their concerns and the three new health policies to be introduce by government. This according to her is to make quality health care in health centres available for the people and reduce pressure on secondary facilities.
She went further to disclosed the policies which includes State Health Insurance Scheme/Community Based Health Insurance Scheme, one functional PHC per ward and Mobile Primary Health Care delivery. In her words, 'The Health insurance will make everyone access health care at a token fee of 1000. This is a useful form of risk sharing that prevents catastrophic health expenditures.
The mobile primary health care is a program that works with community health volunteers to deliver healthcare to the doorstep of persons with special health needs.
She urged the people to stop seeking solutions from Traditional Brith Attendance (TBAs) and instead used a primary health facility around them for antenatal care and child birth.
She informed the stakeholders of both the state and Federal Government intervention on primary healthcare which is to make one PHC functional in each Political Ward, fully equipped to handle 70-80% of diseases in our communities, with 24 hours services providing anti natal care and skilled delivery which will reduce maternal mortality. She mentioned "community policing of pregnant women to prevent maternal mortality" a program introduced by the wife of the Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Linda Ayade.
The Special Adviser thanked the Community heads, Health workers, youth leaders, religious leaders and elder statemen in Calabar Municipality for their participation pleading support for the state government's new health policies, charging them to make use of the town hall meeting on health to make useful contributions that will impact on the health of their people.
After heated delibrations and contributions from opinion leaders in all wards, the following were the resolutions;
*The Government will work with community leaders and relevant stakeholders to ensure the effectiveness of state health insurance scheme.
*Provision of one functional and fully equiped health centre per ward in accordance with the Federal Government policy on strengthening Primary Health care in the country.
*Communities will partner with government to provide quality health care to the people.
*Communities to support "community policing of pregnant women" as initiated by Dr. (Mrs) Linda Ayade.
*To support Sen. Prof Ben Ayade to initiate and sustain mobile health program that will bring health care delivery to the door step of the people.
The town hall meeting ended with the health assessment tour of all PHCs in Calabar Municipality which included Ediba PHC, Ikot Omin PHC, etc.The Special adviser decried poor handling of health facilities by health workers and strongly noted the human resource gap.
Charles Ekanem
P.A -Media & Publicity, to the S.A on Community Health to CRS Governor
