Bauchi Communities Accepts COVID-19 Response Project Implementation – Program Officer
BY KHALID IDRIS DOYA, Bauchi
The COVID-19 Response Mechanism Grant Project (C19 Project) in Bauchi has attributed the tremendous successes it recorded in it’s first quarter of implementation in the state to what it described as good acceptance, welcome and buy-in from the respective it has been working with.
The State Program Officer, Dauda Jubli Makka said, “So far we have recorded some successes, we had a very good acceptance, welcome and buy-in from the respective communities we are working with, and this has gone along way to help us achieve greater success, this is because of the level of advocacy we have conducted through stakeholder engagement and other responses”.
Mr. Dauda Makka who was fielding journalists questions shortly after quarterly media roundtable meeting with Global Fund Grant, Community-Based- Organizations (CBOs), Executive Directors, Nigerian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NPWHAN), Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health, and the COVID-19 Response Mechanism Grant held in Bauchi yesterday.
According to him the meeting which is targeted at the stakeholders and other partners involved in the project with other CBOs for giving them all feedback of all activities conducted in various Local Governments, issues and challenges identified and solutions proffered to achieve desired goals.
“All challenges have been discussed and possible recommendations that have been suggested by the stakeholders and the rest. These recommendations ranges from stakeholder involvement, and high level advocacy to the key policy makers in the state, and the need for involvement of the CBOs or ward development committees who are believe to be the first care in the health system of every community”.
He explained that the project focuses on community health strengthening which means taking ownership of health facilities and the system in the communities and getting them to take buy-in of the health structures, accept them and it’s maintenance and patronage.
Also speaking, Bauchi state program coordinator of Global Fund Grant Abdullahi Ibrahim said that “The essence of the meeting is to access the level of activities being carried within the CBOs and communities”, stressing that the first target is the community engagement, whom the program seen has taken a robust step that it begun to aware it’s sustainability and taking over the facilities.
Ibrahim who is also the State Chairman NEPHWAN explained that the project is strictly on health issues, which is the primary healthcare where the community directly benefits, hence the impact is for the community to take ownership of the facilities.
The program has the objectives, among others, address health issues in a sustainable, equitable and effective manner, including services to combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria.
It is also to pre-position Nigeria’s pandemic preparedness and response system to respond to a possible third wave of the pandemic, and to maintain the current COVID-19 control and containment measures.
The goals, according to a paper presented at the meeting, is to contribute to making fundamental changes to strengthen the health system in Nigeria through targeted interventions that support the Federal Government to set policies, strategies and standards.
“It is also to support the strengthening of Nigeria’s system for effective response to COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies”, the presentation added.