Adopt a PHC
Adopt a Primary Health Care Service (PHC)
Nigeria’s health care system is weak, ranking a dismal 187 out of 191 WHO member countries.
One of the main reasons for the weak health system is the dysfunctional state of the Primary Health Care Services – the foundation and cornerstone of any nation’s health system.
The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a major public health crisis that is now compounding an already bad situation. The Pandemic limits access to essential care services while also exposing the inherent weaknesses in the health systems’ abilities to reach everyone in need. Frontline Health care workers are at the greatest risk of the contagion for obvious reasons. A Public Health crisis like COVID-19 and a resilient health system must therefore be recognised and managed as 2 sides of the same coin.
Our efforts as an organization, focus on providing sustainable solutions that would improve the Health and socio-economic status of Africans. We work to promote health and support the #UnitedNations agenda on #SDG3 Target 8 – Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by providing affordable and sustainable access to high-quality healthcare services and products to underserved communities in developing countries in Africa.
In line with our mission and vision, we at CeSAHA embarked on a community-based health intervention project tagged “Adopt A PHC program” with the slogan “Quality Health, Quality Life”.
Our Approach
We recently ‘adopted’ two Primary Health Centres (PHC) in Lagos and Oyo States, with the goal to support the Lagos and Oyo States government in its current efforts to substantially improve the quality of life of the people through provision of high quality healthcare services even amidst this raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The Primary Healthcare system is the foundation of any nation’s health system and our goal is to work with the key stakeholders to strengthen the capability and capacity of IKATE and ARORO PHCs to provide the catchment population with quality essential and affordable community health services in line with the PHC act.
“Lagosians Health Matters”
We recently ‘adopted’ IKATE Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Lekki, Lagos State with the goal of supporting the Lagos State government in its current efforts to substantially improve the quality of life of the people of Lagos through provision of high quality healthcare services even amidst this raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The Primary Healthcare system is the foundation of any nation’s health system and our goal is to work with the key stakeholders to strengthen the capability and capacity of the Ikate PHC to provide the catchment population with essential and affordable community health services in line with the PHC act.
After the necessary consultations and stakeholder engagements and sensitization, we carried out 2 baseline surveys designed to help us assess the level of the current challenges faced by the PHC. The first survey assessed the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of the Healthcare workers to help us determine the risk levels of health care workers with respect to COVID-19 and related infectious diseases. The second survey was a situational analysis of the entire PHC Facility Management system.
The first survey revealed that the majority of healthcare workers are at moderate risk level of contracting COVID-19 for various reasons. One of the key underlying reasons for this is chronic shortage of essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) needed to protect themselves adequately during this pandemic. On August 11, 2020, CeSAHA donated essential Personal Protective Equipment & items which included Liquid Hand wash, Hand Sanitizers, Infrared thermometers, surgical masks, gloves and face shields.
We plan to do more by helping the Ikate PHC establish a sustainable supply chain system that will ensure constant availability of PPEs and other essential consumables in the facility.
Dr Balogun, Medical Officer of Health (MOH) of Eti-Osa Local government Area, alongside Mrs Adesiyan (the Apex nurse), the doctors and other Healthcare workers (HCWs) in the centre were available to receive the items. They were appreciative of our efforts and promised to put the donated items to good use.
The organization was well represented by Opeyemi Aladekoyi and Uche Jones.
The second phase of the project is ongoing.
We recently ‘adopted’ ARORO Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Akinyele LGA, Ibadan, Oyo State with the goal of supporting the Oyo State government in its current efforts to substantially improve the quality of life of the people of Oyo through provision of high quality healthcare services even amidst this raging COVID-19 pandemic. The Primary Healthcare system is the foundation of any nation’s health system and our goal is to work with the key stakeholders to strengthen the capability and capacity of the Ikate PHC to provide the catchment population with essential and affordable community health services in line with the PHC act.
On December 11, 2020, CeSAHA organized a dissemination workshop with the Dr Olatunji, Executive Director of Primary Healthcare Board, Oyo state, Mrs Adeniran, the Matron for Akinyele LGA and the Facility workers, to share findings of the needs assessment carried out. Discussions around bridging the gaps identified in the Facility took place too.