Admin|9 March 2016|12:24pm
The 2016 need assessment tour of primary health facilities and town hall meeting with relevant stakeholders in the sector took place in Ikot Ekpo Eyo Community Hall l, Akpabuyo LGA on the 25th of February. The Chairman of Akpabuyo who was represented by Supervisor -Due Process, Mr Bassey Etim Effiong received the DG and other officials of Cross River State Primary Health Care Agency.
He was so delighted for the town hall meeting which according to him is first of it kind in Akpabuyo urging the people to use the opportunity to express their concerns on health delivery in the LGA.
Dr. Mrs. Betta Edu, in her remarks, thanked the good people of Akpabuyo for coming out to dialogue and chart a way forward for health care delivery in the local government. She reaffirmed Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade resolve to revitalize primary heath care delivery in Cross River State. According to the DG, His Excellency Prof Ben Ayade in fulfillment of his campaign promised to Akpabuyo on quality healthcare delivery, ordered for urgent need assessment tour of facilities in health centres across the state.
She informed the stakeholders of government new policies on primary health care which is open for deliberations and dialogue in a bid to provide quality health to Cross Riverians. The policies are state health insurance scheme which would include community based health insurance scheme. She said the scheme will make low income earners and extremely poor people have access to health facilities for a token of N1000. It will be free for children under 5, pregnant women, very poor and elderly persons above 65. Another policy according to her is mobile health care program which will bring health care services to the doorstep of every one.
Finally she intimated them of a program initiated by the wife of the governor, Dr Linda Ayade on community policing of pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality rate.
So many issues affecting primary health centres were raised by participants across the political wards. Many of them demanded for more health centres to reduce long distance journey to access a facility and the need of state government to provide security for health centres.
She advised the host communities of health facilities to play a vital role in providing security to facilities as part of community ownership.
At the end of the meeting, resolutions were taken:
• to support Community based health insurance scheme.
•to establish one functional heath centre in each political ward.
•to support and sustain mobile primary health care delivery system.
•to participate in community ownership of health facilities.
• to support community policing to reduce martenal mortality.
Several health facilities were inspected by the S.A as she noted high rate maternal delivery in TBA's instead of health centres. She charged health workers to develop maintenance culture by keeping their facilities clean.
Charles Ekanem
P.A -Media and Publicity, to the DG, CRSPHCDA.
