By Isaac Olufemi Ojo
IBADAN — In a bid to strengthen grassroots healthcare delivery, the Executive Director of the Redeemer’s Aids Initiative for People and Communities (RAPAC), Pastor Odutolu Olugbenga, has called on members of the Ward Development Committee (WDC) in Ibadan North East Local Government to take absolute ownership of Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in their domains.
Pastor Olugbenga made this known during an advocacy meeting held at the Aremo Primary Health Centre, noting that the engagement was designed to reorient community stakeholders, solidarise with grassroots populations, and apprise them of ongoing interventions by the organisation.
He specifically highlighted the Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) project with funding from the Global Fund with a focus on better engaging community members in reviewing how services are deployed and highlighting grey areas that need improvement.
Shedding more light on the initiative, the Oyo State Program / Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (SPM&EO) of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Mr. Olatokunbo Famiyesin, explained that the CLM project involves routine visits to PHCs to interact directly with patients and evaluate service delivery concerning HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, among other health issues.
Famiyesin noted that while critical operational challenges are escalated to relevant state authorities for urgent intervention, minor or less cumbersome issues can be resolved locally with the support of well-to-do individuals and community philanthropists.
“We have been informed that ‘ there is no running water at Akeke PHC,” Famiyesin stated, addressing the WDC members.
He further disclosed that WDC members should be extra proactive by taking extra steps in playing their part in ensuring that service delivery is scaled up using their influence in addressing minor challenges within their locality “Looking at this, and based on the political season that we are in, we can utilize this period to relate with politicians to help get this done for the benefit of our people, instead of escalating it to the state government.”
According to a report presented by the RAPAC Programs Officer, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Owolabi, visits to selected PHCs within the local government revealed glaring infrastructural gaps, including poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, inadequate patient beds, and space constraints.
In his response, the Chairman of the Ward Development Committee in Ibadan North East Local Government, Alhaji Odelade Dauda, charged WDC members representing the four primary healthcare facilities in which RAPAC is implementing the CLM project in Ibadan North East LGA—Irefin, Akeke, Oke-Adu, and Oje Elewa—to foster closer cooperation and redouble their efforts toward community health development. He also pledged the commitment and support of the WDCs in IBNE towards the CLM project in order to ensure success stories are recorded.
