The Ekiti State Primary Health Care Development Agency (EKSPHCDA) in partnership with Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), have rallied all stakeholders in Ekiti State on how to improve on the use of Primary Health Care faculties at the grassroots through a stakeholders’ town hall meeting also aimed at providing solutions to the insecurity of the Staff and PHC faculties across all the centres in the state.
The engagement with the sole objectives to strengthen and ensure citizen centred PHC and also, build trust, accountability and responsiveness of the PHCs delivery through structured citizen engagement was held on Thursday, May 22nd in Ado-Ekiti. on
The event which was well attended by the stakeholders and other notable people brought together community leaders, religious leaders, youth representatives, midwives, people living with disabilities, health workers and other relevant personalities to discuss strategies for strengthening primary healthcare delivery and encouraging residents to patronise PHC facilities.
Speaking during the meeting, the State Immunisation Officer of Ekiti State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Mrs. Ogundola Omolabake said the forum was organised to bridge communication gaps between health providers and communities while also sensitising residents to the importance of accessing healthcare services at PHCs across the State.
According to her, the government and its partners have invested significantly in revitalising primary healthcare facilities across the state, stressing that residents must take advantage of the available services.
“For primary healthcare services in Ekiti State, we can say on the average things are improving, but we still need more community participation and utilisation of these facilities,” she said.
“We have committed a lot of resources into PHCs across the state. The purpose of this town hall meeting is to inform the people about what has been achieved and also get feedback from them on areas where improvement is needed.”
She explained that beyond infrastructural development, health workers in the state have undergone several trainings and retraining programmes to improve service delivery and interpersonal relationships with patients.
Omolabake noted that the agency had introduced “Respectful Maternal Care” training for healthcare workers to ensure pregnant women and their families receive dignified and compassionate treatment during antenatal care and childbirth.
“Gone are the days when people complained about poor attitudes of health workers. We have invested heavily in training and retraining our staff. Health workers now understand the importance of respectful maternal care and better communication with patients and their relatives,” she added.
The health administrator stressed that the meeting also served as an accountability platform where government agencies could present scorecards of interventions carried out in PHCs while communities contribute ideas towards improving healthcare services.
Another stakeholder at the event, Afuye Busayo said the engagement provided an avenue for residents to better understand the operations and benefits of primary healthcare facilities.
Afuye disclosed that the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund and other intervention programmes were supporting the revitalisation of at least one PHC facility in every ward across Ekiti State.
According to him, ongoing interventions include renovation of facilities, solar power installation, provision of boreholes and upgrading of some health centres from basic to more comprehensive service levels.
“We are rebuilding facilities, solarising them and providing essential equipment to improve healthcare delivery. The goal is to make PHCs more accessible to the people and ensure quality services at the grassroots,” the stakeholder said.
He however, acknowledged concerns raised by participants over inadequate numbers of PHCs in some newly developing communities and appealed to the state government to establish more facilities in underserved areas.
Also speaking, the Ekiti State PTA Chairman Elder Adeusi Adesoji commended the ongoing health awareness campaigns, especially immunisation programmes targeted at school children, saying public sensitisation had improved parents’ response to healthcare services.
He noted that many parents who previously neglected immunisation and basic healthcare services were now embracing them due to increased awareness and improved confidence in health workers.
“Parents are responding positively now because they are more informed about the benefits of these services. The health workers are more accessible and healthcare delivery has improved considerably,” he said.
The PTA chairman urged both the federal and state governments not to relent in sustaining the improvements recorded in drug supply, staffing and service delivery at primary healthcare facilities.
Stakeholders at the meeting unanimously emphasised that strengthening primary healthcare remains critical to reducing maternal and child mortality, improving immunisation coverage and ensuring affordable healthcare services for residents, particularly those in rural communities.
They also called on residents to make greater use of PHCs for routine medical care, antenatal services, immunisation and other preventive healthcare interventions rather than waiting until illnesses become severe before seeking treatment.
