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Pastor Effiong Udobong and group of participants
By Akpan David, Calabar
Cross River State government has commended the roles played by Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, involved in healthcare issues and their infrastructures.
It said the CSOs have tremendously assisted them to reach hard-to-reach rural commodities to impact the local people.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Etim Ayi who made the commendation, said the works of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) Network in the state have penetrated the five local areas they are presently working in.
Ayi spoke in Calabar yesterday when ATM Networks held a meeting on the COVID-19 Response Mechanism, Resilient Sustainable Systems for Health, Community System Strengthening Project which time they recounted their achievements in communities they presently work.
Ayi said such works where they also helped to rehabilitate rundown health infrastructure in communities has helped their primary healthcare development.
Pastor Effiong Udobong
Ayi said, “We are happy with CSOs, especially the ATM Network, for reaching out to Cross River communities with difficult topography to carry out their health advocacies in malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS prone areas.
“They are complimenting our efforts in the primary healthcare. They are working with the real people to adapt to modern medicare, and encouraging them to exercise real ownership of health infrastructures which we are particularly happy about.
“Government is happy and want them to sustain this complimentary role. On our part, we’ll sustain our commitments towards commodity availability, counterpart funding and human capital development, as well as extend our usual support to them..”
During the meeting with the media and other key stakeholders in the state, the networks team showcased the tremendous achievements they have harvested from the community-led initiatives implemented in five focal LGAs namely: Odukapni, Abi, Boki, Obudu and Yala.
Speaking, the state coordinator of ATM Networks, Pastor Effiong Udobong listed various interventions and particularly expressed happiness that the local folks have embraced the advocacy by also supporting building of infrastructures.
“We’ve been able to address gaps in the health systems and infrastructures for sustainable, efficient and effective health outcomes. We have also ensured that communities and CSOs are integrated into the healthcare response, so that they contribute their quotas in achieving desired results.”
He disclosed that the health system strengthening programme is being funded by Global Fund under COVID-19 response mechanism.
He called for communication and education programmes to raise awareness so as to improve testing and care seeking. “There’s great need to educate, engage and empower the communities to embrace any behavior change relevant to achieving success in malaria, HIV and TB control in Nigeria”, he stressed.
Also speaking on behalf of the traditional institution, HRH Francis Edet, a chieftain in the Obong of Calabar palace stated that the rural communities where 60% of the people dwell, were neglected but with interventions from health groups, it has helped government efforts tremendously.
“The penetration of the health groups into our communities is commendable. We encourage more findings to efforts like this so that more communities should be focused at. We appeal that international donors and other health partners should not relent to sustain the rural interventions,” he said.
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