Dr Alhassan Siaka, State Director of IHP in Bauchi
By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
Media practitioners in the country particularly those reporting health sector have been challenged to be in the forefront as champions crusading improved commitment and policy change as part of efforts in strengthening Healthcare delivery system as well as access and improved quality of integrated primary health care.
The challenge to the Media practitioners was thrown by Bauchi State Director of USAID funded Integrated Health Program, (IHP), Dr Alhassan Siaka during a follow-up training workshop for Editors and media practitioners on Health Governance Reporting in the state, organized by IHP, held at the Chartwell hotel in Misau local government area of Bauchi state.
In his opening remarks at the training, the IHP State Director said that the attention of the public needs to be drawn to those who take decisions in order to address challenges in the health sector.
He further said that there is the need to refocus energy on areas of governance and leadership of the health sector, adding that IHP supports six pillars of health systems which includes leadership and governance.
Alhassan Siaka said that, “In IHP, what we are concerned about is how do we ensure that the health sector benefit from vibrant leadership? How do we ensure that the governance structure around health is improved in such a way that is productive, efficient and targeted at delivery results that is mostly beneficial to the poorest of the poor”
He stressed that, “There is what the media can do to ensure that information around leadership, governance and health sector in general is made available to the public as well as the decision making population, so that reliable information forms the basis for decision that made by the authorities concerned”.
While giving a presentation on Delivery of Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health and Nutrition/Malaria Service, he explained that Primary Health Care under one roof is a policy to reduce fragmentations in the delivery of Primary Health Care services.
Which according to him involves the integration of all PHC services under one authority, adding that fragmentations has been identified as the most significant problem facing PHC services and affects utilization rates and health indices.
Alhassan Siaka also said that community and PHC platforms could reduce 77 percent of Maternal, Newborn Child deaths and still births, that are preventable by these essential intervention in the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health packages.
Also in his address at the training, the IHP Knowledge Management Specialist, Mr Boniface Kassam said that the aim of the training was to update media on IHP’s support to the states, increase the knowledge of the media on RMNCH +NM issues in and to receive update on media coverage of RMNCH issues in the state.
Boniface Kassam stressed that the Media practitioners have an important role in effective service delivery in the health sector because according to him, the general public need to know what services are provided at which facility.
He then urged the participants to take cognizance of the key role they need to play as eyes and ears of the people by reporting what intervention need to be improved upon by the government and development partners.
