Experts have urged governments at the national and subnational levels to key into private and public partnership in promoting financing for family planning and integrated health services as a model for revitalizing Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system.
The experts who disclosed this at the 38th annual scientific conference organized by the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria supported by the Partnership for Advocacy for child and family health at scale anchored by the development Research and Projects Centre and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in Ilorin, Kwara state.
Dr Sunday Aderibigbe, National Vice President Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria noted that the percentage of national budget dedicated to health was small compared to the dwindling health indices of the populace.
“As part of the mandate of the association of public health physicians, we are involved in all aspect of health, funding, health promotion, health prevention, we feel that funding for health is an integral part of this conference to raise the awareness of the policy makers, what they can do to make sure that health funding is increased in this country so that the health indices of our people can be better off.”
Also speaking at the conference on Wednesday, Mrs Emily Olalere, Director Programme Coordinating Department of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Abuja stated that the government has clearly stated that there is need to engage the private sector and that is why the pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN) has involved to reposition the patient medicine vendors in the country.
She said that the PCN which had looked at the accreditation of patient medicine vendors in the area of training and their facilities aimed at improving their service delivery through training to make the patient medicine vendors to undergo the mandatory entry point Programme which will be done for four weeks to have a formal training, interaction with trainers and participants who have been patient medicine vendors.
“During that training a lot of things are going to be done; we are going to train them on regulatory practices, we are going to train them on how to identify common illnesses in the community, how to use rapid diagnostic test for identifying childhood diseases even COVID-19 and the rest of them with that capacity development. They will be able to provide family planning, the family planning space, injectables and implants.
She said that the Federal Ministry of Health has also adopted Task shifting policy to ensure that services that should be provided by the private sector to include reproductive and family planning, HIV services, Tuberculosis services, maternal and child health will be provided adding that “The Federal Ministry of health has made provision that if these people are going to be providing these services, their capacity needs to be strengthened.
Olalere said that the PCN had partnership from NGOS and other implementing partners that are helping to strengthen their capacity for effective delivery services…. Continue reading
