USAID IHP Partners Media on Improve RMNCH+NM Services in Bauchi State

USAID IHP Partners Media on Improve RMNCH+NM Services in Bauchi State

By Bashir Hassan Abubakar

Towards upscaling primary health care services in Bauchi State, USAID funded Integrated Health Program (USAID IHP) has identify media as veritable tool in shaping beliefs, attitude and perceived norms mitigating access to health care services in communities of Bauchi State.

This was revealed by IHP State Program Director, Dr. Alhassan Siaka at a follow up training workshop for the select group of media practitioners on Health Governance Reporting, held in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Giving an overview of the intervention to participants at the workshop, Dr. Siaka said the primary objective of the USAID IHP intervention in Bauchi State was to strengthen the health systems and to Improve on quality of integrated primary health care services that would be all encompassing in the areas of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health plus nutrition and malaria (RMNCH+NM).

In a highly participatory interactive sessions with participants, the program director of the USAID IHP commended Bauchi State Government for it’s commitment and efforts towards making quality healthcare services available to the citizens saying, “this can be seen in the prompt payment of the 2021 counterpart funding of 330 million naira in the primary health care basket fund. This is clear demonstration of government’s commitment”.

 

Dr. Siaka also said that IHP strategic approach to meeting the program’s objective is to support host sustainability and self-reliance, address state capacity development plan and to reduce supply side barriers to access in healthcare services.

Other strategic approaches, according to the expert, includes accelerated scale up of high impact intervention, institutionalisation of integrated health services and promotion of result oriented management of health facilities that is data driven.

Earlier speaking, the communication officer of IHP Bauchi office, Boniface Kassam mentioned that the objective of the workshop was to increase media visibility of IHP support at facility and community levels and also increase the knowledge of the media on RMNCH+NM among other things.

Also, giving an update on the activities of members of media network on public health, the chairperson of the coalition, Elizabeth Kar urged members of network to be innovative in their style of reporting public health issues at both the community and facility level.

Kar emphasise on the need for the members to focus more on clients and their challenges at healthcare centres and also the service providers.

It expected that the training workshop would feature field trip to some of the PHCs where there is an ongoing state support intervention by IHP.

 

Our correspondent reports that the two days workshop, organised by IHP, with funding from USAID, attracted participants from both print, electronic and online media practitioners.

 

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