The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) is to spend over $1million from the China-Africa collaboration fund to address the high maternal, newborn and child mortality rate in the Kwami local government area of Gombe state.
Projected beneficiaries of the project are 55,234 under-five children and 13,809 pregnant women in the area from January to December, 2020.
Through the project, an integrated primary health care model which can be easily scaled up and replicated is expected to be established in the LGA.
The project is also expected to improve the health status of women and children through revitalisation of the primary health care delivery system as well as the functionality of health facilities, outreaches and community based service in the ten wards of the LGA.
Already, UNICEF in collaboration with the Gombe state government has trained 38 health workers from different health faculties in the LGA so as to strengthen the capacity of the LGA primary health care system for quality services.
Also, 55 Community Health Influencers and Promoters (CHIPS) agents were also trained on Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM).
According to Aminu Saleh Abubakar, an Assistant Director in the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, there is very poor health indices in the North-east where Gombe is located and believes that not only after the project ends, but the process is already yielding positive changes.
He said, “We will have a well capacitated health care system, our health indices will definitely rise to a better level and access to services will be easier.”
“We will have equipment that health care service workers can work with, deliver equitable care services, we may have enough drugs in all the facilities and essential drugs are key. And if facilities are well equipped but workers are not skilled, services cannot be rendered qualitatively. So, all these things can be achieved.”
Director Primary Health Care Department of Kwami LGA, Umar Musa, told journalists during the training that, even before the end of the project, the maternal mortality rate of the LG had greatly improved because, “they asked us to revitalise our PHC’s in all the wards which is the reason for this training and we hope it will continue to improve.”
