By Abujah Racheal

Niger (Suleja), Aug 14, 2023 (NAN) Nigeria Health Watch (NHW) says innovative community accountability mechanisms is necessary to ensure quality Primary Health Care (PHC) delivery in the country.

Dr Kemisola Agbaoye, Director of Programmes, NHW, said this on Monday in Suleja, Niger, at the Primary Healthcare Nutrition Policy Dialogue.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dialogue was organised by NHW.

Its theme is “strengthening primary healthcare demand in Nigeria to improve community access to quality healthcare”.

NHW said that the dialogue aimed to address and strengthen the demand for primary healthcare services in the country.

It said  the dialogue would reflect the importance of enhancing the healthcare system’s responsiveness to the needs of the local communities and improving the accessibility and quality of healthcare services.

Agbaoye said Primary Health Care was people’s first point of contact with the health care system and a cornerstone for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country.

She lamented that not all PHCs in the country had the standard requirements to provide quality health care to people, which made PHC accountability essential.

She shed light on the pressing issues that the PHCs were confronting, ultimately jeopardising the delivery of quality healthcare to millions of Nigerians.

She said the country had over 34,000 PHCs, but regrettably, only 20 per cent of them were operational.

“Through National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Federal Government has introduced policies to improve PHCs in the country, to ensure at least one functional PHC per ward in Nigeria.

“Over the years, Nigeria Health Watch has supported the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Governors Forum for improved PHC services for all Nigerians.

“We explore various options such as Policy Dialogue and Community Health Watch, where community members report their experience accessing PHC services,” she explained.

Dr Ibrahim Ahmed Dangana, Executive Director, Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency (NSPHCDA), called for strengthening community accountability mechanisms for quality primary healthcare in the country.

Dangana who was represented by Dr Inuwa Junaidu, emphasised the importance of community accountability in improving primary healthcare services.

The executive director acknowledged the progress made in PHC indicators but stressed the need for further improvements to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of good health and well-being for all by 2030.

“The address highlighted the role of innovative platforms such as community maternal, perinatal, and child death surveillance review committees in hearing the voices of healthcare workers and stakeholders at the community level,” he said.

He praised the culture of openness to innovations in Niger State and emphasised the importance of empowering and mobilising communities to become active agents of change in demanding quality services and championing healthy lifestyles.

He called for consistent commitment, collaboration and unwavering determination in building a legacy of accessible, equitable and quality primary healthcare in the state.

During a panel discussion on increasing community demand for quality PHC services, Mrs Aisha Ahmed, Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Coordinator, Niger State, said the state was part of  the three that the Federal Government used to pilot the implementation of BHCPF in the country.

Ahmed said that since the implementation of BHCPF, the state had seen a lot of improvements in the healthcare facilities, enabling the people of Niger to access quality care.

“Through the BHCPF, Niger State has ensured we have essential drugs and manpower. However, our main challenge is ensuring that skilled workers sent to communities stay and work in those communities,” she said.

She said that one of the key groups the state used to get health information for better quality service was the Ward Development Committees because they represented community voices.

In Niger, it is estimated that one in every 95 women dies during pregnancy and childbirth.

High attrition rates of skilled midwives, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas, have led to midwives shortages, compromising the quality of care provided to pregnant women and newborns.

Based on insights from the “Why Are Women Dying While Giving Birth In Nigeria” report, one of the reasons for maternal deaths is the poor distribution of healthcare workers in the state.

Most health workers prefer to work within the state capital rather than in the rural communities where there is a significant shortage of midwives.

According to retention conducted in February 2023, Niger is committed to ensuring the recruitment of over 500 nurses and midwives through the state’s BHCPF, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and the Expanded Midwives Service Scheme (eMSS).(NAN) 

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal

Dr Olajumoke Koyejo, a Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, on Wednesday advised the Federal Government to impose heavy taxes on companies producing or importing cigarettes and alcohol.

Koyejo gave the advice in Ilorin at the ongoing 2023 Annual Scientific Conference and Fellows Congress (ASCAF), of the Postgraduate Medical College Fellows Association.

She disclosed that Lagos state has the highest prevalence of substance use in Nigeria.

The expert who lamented on the adverse effect of using psychoactive substances, lamented that about 65 per cent of patients battling with mental disorder are people who abused psychotropic drugs such as stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, inhalants, cannabis and narcotics.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that psychoactive substances are chemical substance that changes the function of the nervous system and results in alterations of perception, mood, cognition and behaviour.

Koyejo believed that with higher taxation, this will make the psycho-substances to be beyond the reach of the purchasing powers of average Nigerians, saying that prevalence rate of pscho-substance use in Nigeria is at 14 per cent.

She added that the prevalence is twice higher than the world prevalence of 5.6 per cent.

“There is also the need for government to plan the environment better for people to have other means of recreation.

“Sports and others should be encouraged because you cannot take away what they use as a means of recreation (substance) without replacing it with something else.

“The way out 9f the use of substance abuse in Nigeria, for me, is more of prevention. We cannot do prevention without taking the ministry of education into consideration,” she said.

According to her, there are evidence-based ways of handling prevention of substance abuse.

“It has been proven that some of the leading causes of drug abuse in the society are ignorance, curiosity and peer pressure.

“The implications of drug abuse on the society includes rapes, audacious robbery attacks, riots, economic sabotage, bullying, thuggery and a host of other forms of anti-social behaviours exhibited by people under the influence of hard drugs,” she warned.

Also in his paper presentation, Dr Owoidoho Udofia, a Consultant Psychiatrist from the University Teaching Hospital, Calabar, submitted that doctors have responsibility of taking care of their well-being.

The expert spoke on the theme: “Physician Well-being and Burn Out”.

According to him, physicians need to care for their health for the sake of patients and this can be done through reduction in our workloads.

The psychiatrist warned that “a sick doctor is a dangerous patient”, while also advising on the need for doctors to take responsibility of taking care of the people working under them.

“Doctors should deliberately create their own social support system. This is because the work of a doctor comes with a lot of stress,” he said.

Besides, he advised on the need to address the root cause of burnout, while advising healthcare providers to have friends to talk to, and shun excess work load. (NAN)

Edited by Muhammad Tola

By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal

Prof. Akinsanya Osibogun, the President, Postgraduate Medical College Fellows’ Association, on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to focus on training and retaining skilled medical professionals in Nigeria.

He said that around the world there is high demand for skilled professionals in the health sector especially in the UK, U.S and Canada.

Osibogun said this while speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the the 17th Annual Scientific Conference and All Fellows’ Congress (ASCAF) in Ilorin.

The programme is themed: “Improving Health Care Financing In Nigeria”, with subtitle: ‘Technology in Medicine and Public Private Partnership”.

He urged the government to stem the brain drain known as “Japa syndrome”, where skilled professionals are leaving the country for greener pasture abroad.

“To retain your skilled professionals, you must give enough incentives to keep them here. And incentives are both financial and non-financial,” he said.

The expert identified poor renumeration and lack of adequate infrastructure as major challenges confronting medical practitioners.

“We know that government alone can not do it. So, all stakeholders have to put in place mechanism to improve health sector and retain people we have trained in the country.

“The only way to retain them is by improving on their work environment so that all equipments and tools they need to render service would be available.

“Medical practitioners have to be well renumerated and the environment must be conducive to keep them in the country,” he said.

Osibogun observed that younger doctors are migrating out of the country, adding that “we need those younger doctors to be available for us to train them to become specialists and remain in Nigeria”.

“As a country, we need to come up with plans to ensure that required equipment are available geopolitically, statewide or by ward,” he advised.

He therefore enjoined all tiers government to improve on their remuneration for healthcare workers, conducive working environment, tools and equipment.

Dr Foluwasayo Ologe, the Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the ASCAF conference, had earlier described the theme of the programme as apt as there is need to improve healthcare financing in Nigeria.

According to him, there is need for public private partnership to support the healthcare system in the country.

Ologe, who is a Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Ilorin, asserted that the days of crude medicine is long gone as technology has taken over.

“A lot of technology goes into medicine. Through technology, robotic surgery helps in surgical intervention without the doctor being near the patient,” he said.

On his part, Prof. Adekunle Okesina, Consultant Chemical Pathologist of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), explained that the primary function of the college is to produce specialists in all branches of medicine and dentistry.

According to him, it oversees the postgraduate medical education and training of pathologists in Nigeria through its Faculty of Pathology. (NAN)

Edited by Nkiru Ifeajuna/Muhammad Tola