12th August, 2022
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
A group of non-governmental organisation, the Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN) has called for stakeholders’ collaboration to strengthen the community health care system in Rivers State and Nigeria at large.
Mr Ayo Ipinmoye,the National Coordinator of the group made the call on Wednesday at a three-day sensitisation workshop organised by the group in collaboration with the Civil Society organisations on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Port Harcourt.
Ipinmoye said that the aim of the workshop was to develop and strengthen the community health system through a grant given by global fund for COVID-19 Response Mechanism(C19RM), Resilience and Sustainable System Health (RSSH)intervention in Nigeria.
According to Ipinmoye, while the issues about COVID 19 has gone beyond containment, there is need to build and strengthen the community health care system to prepare for any possible future pandemic.
“If we use this opportunity to strengthen the involvement of the communities ownership to ensure that our structures are working well, we will be able to overcome that comes unaware.
“We are using the already exist Civil society organisations on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to achieve our focus on developing and strengthening the components at the community primary health care and local government areas.
“We work and turn our findings into advocacy issues and this is where the media comes in because we believe in the strength of the media to amplify the voices of the communities, for better development”he said.
Ipinmoye called on communities, civil society organisations, government and the mass media to own the health outcome of our country.
According to him, Our health is our wealth,we cannot leave our health to other people.
“We have a community led monitoring team who will be at the four front of the project because people sustain what belongs to them and not what that is lord on them,”Ipinmoye said.
Similarly, Mr John Ihua-maduenyi, the State Coordinator for ACOMIN in Rivers,said that the COVID-19 Response Mechanism(C19RM),Resilience and Sustainable System Health(RSSH) intervention project in the state will last for 18 months.
Ihua-maduenyi said that the state implementors will work as a team to make sure that the goal of the project be achieved.
He urged the team implementors of the project in the state to cooperate with each other to achieve the objectives of the project.