The Nigerian Government through the National Primary Health-Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is set to launch a Community-Based Health Research Innovative-Training and Services Programme (CRISP) on Monday, May 22, 2023 at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja
The NPHCDA Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Faisal Shuaib made this known during a media conference with Journalists in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
He disclosed that the Programme would address the required Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA) in Primary Health-Care (PHC) facilities across the country.
“CRISP is a partnership between the Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centre, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, State Primary Health Care Boards, Local Government Health Authorities and the communities to support primary health care development aimed to leverage the rural posting of Resident Doctors from teaching hospitals to boost and guarantee the quality of care at the PHC level through their active involvement in primary health service delivery. This is targeted at improving Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, amongst other health services within the benefiting communities.”
According to him, the intervention focuses on increasing, retaining and improving the quality, adequacy, competency, and distribution of a committed multidisciplinary primary healthcare workforce that includes facility outreach and community-based health workers supported through effective management supervision and appropriate compensation.
“Human Resources for Health (HRH) particularly Skilled Birth Attendants, such as Medical Doctors, Midwives, Nurses, and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) that have been trained on how to manage emergencies would be recruited and deployed to priority PHC facilities across the country.”
Dr Shuaib added that the Programme would be funded by the Government of Nigeria with support from development partners and philanthropists, among others.
The Country Representative, World Health Organisation, (WHO) Dr Walter Mulombo said the initiative is timely as the WHO has declared the end of Public Health Emergency of international concern for Covid-19 pandemic.
“This remove the exceptional status of the event, that we also emphasis all countries should remain vigilant because the virus is still circulating, and this is why we are pleased to see that NPHCDA already took steps to integrate Covid-19 vaccination with other vaccination exercise and interventions.”
Dr Mulombo said the WHO is insisting on a collaborative approach for all key interventions because Epidemic, Pandemic starts in Communities, and ends in Communities so they need reliable data, evidence, policies and actions that is why “We are pleased that NPHCDA is embarking on this initiative, the CRISP, because it will contribute to generate the body of evidence required to inform our interventions.”
The UNICEF Country Representative, Cristian Munduate who was represented by the Chief of Health, Dr Eduardo Celedes who congratulated the NPHCDA said the reason for the congratulations is because in the past “We know that only 70% of pregnant women have access to an adult care, only 60% of pregnant women are able to have the full antenatal checkups only 50% one out of two of the new babies are attended by Skilled Birth Attendants know that more than 2 million women are not accessing to antenatal care.”
Dr Celedes noted that neonatal mortality has not been reduced and despite the problems, less than 5 mortality is still one out of 10 children die before the end of five years.
“It is a great initiative by the leadership move to recruit more Nurses, Midwives and Doctors, train them to really have an impact on our PHC”. He added.
PIAK
