KWSPHCDA: Elelu Highlights Strides in Primary Health Care, Promises Improved Service Delivery

The Kwara State Government through the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KWSPHCDA) has engendered sustainable and resilient primary health care system that deepens access to quality health services, upgrades healthcare infrastructure and promotes the wellbeing of the people.

The evidence-based statement was made by the Executive Secretary, Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KWSPHCDA), Dr. Nusirat Elelu at the 40th Media Parliament of the Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists, where she was the guest speaker on the theme " Transforming Primary Health Care Beyond Lip Service"

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary identified the roles of the primary health care system in ensuring equitable access to essential healthcare services, stating that the implementation of the various health initiatives conceived by the KWSPHCDA has elevated the quality of the primary healthcare services and   improved the health indices of the state.

"In the wake of the Baseline Assessment carried out which identified infrastructural decay in our health facilities, we embarked on the voyage of revitalization which has so far culminated in the comprehensive overhauling of 25 primary healthcare facilities with several others at different stages of renovation. To ensure a successful vaccine delivery system, we upgraded the State walk-in cold store and supplied 2 brand new generators to improve our cold chain capacity."

" We understand that the delivery of effective healthcare services that meet the health needs of the people requires adequate skilled and competent health workforce, as such, we carried out recruitment of all cadres of health workers under the Agency with an improved salary package to motivate and reinforce their commitment for better service delivery."

" We conduct annual training and re-training of thousands of health workers from the State, Local Government Areas and Ward levels on varying skills such as life saving skills, emergency maternal health, Data Management, Vaccine Management, IPC, Surveillance, Maternal, Infant, Young Child Nutrition Counselling, Inventory management, Interpersonal communication skills, GRM, DFF and many more for improved productivity and better decision-making."

Speaking further, Elelu explained that the Agency established Kwara State Emergency Routine Immunization Coordination

Centre (SERICC) to ensure that effective, efficient and resilient immunization services are accessible to all people as an essential part of primary health care, stating the significant strides that have been recorded in the immunization activities to strengthen the immunity of the children against vaccine-preventable diseases.

" Kwara continues on a positive trajectory to improve its vaccination coverage, with a rate of 66.5%, one of the top 3 in North-central. This is a tremendous improvement

as our coverage of under 1 year olds vaccinated in 2016 stood at 33.9%.

It is heartwarming that the state was moved out of immunization zero-dose state in the country, 

thus paving the way for an improved routine immunization coverage.

it is instructive to note that there has been no report of the outbreak of circulating variant polio virus (cVPV) in almost 24 months, whilst Kwara was previously the state with the highest cVPV report in 2019 "

She stated that Kwara State which was awarded the overall best in supplemental polio Outbreak Response (OBR) in the country in January 2023, emerged overall best state in the country in 2021 on the measles vaccination and that so far over 700,000 children have been vaccinated in the 2023 measles campaign.

While attributing the emergence of Kwara State as the best-performing state in the PHC Leadership Challenge Fund in the primary healthcare delivery in North Central zone to the huge investments of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq in primary health care, Elelu stated that the cash award of $500,000 that came with the recognition for which a work plan has been developed will be spent through the UNICEF accountability mechanism.

" We are able to deepen collaboration with the development partners due to prompt payment of counterpart funds by the State Government and improved financial accountability, which has increased partner confidence in the State and increased resource mobilization for PHC activities leading to improved health indices. There has been  increased engagement with non-governmental organizations such as Rotary International, ACOMIN, GLOHWOC, and a host of others, which has resulted in optimized performances in both routine and supplemental PHC activities. The state now hosts a learning visit from the National and International Organizations in recognition of our performance and innovative strategies."

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kwara State chapter, Mr. Abdullateef Ahmed spoke on the need to develop a mechanism to neutralize the effects of disinformation through consistent enlightenment to educate people on the significance of health interventions.

The event attracted huge attendance from media personalities in the state, management, and staff of the KWSPHCDA and well wishers.