By Murtala Muhammad
The Bauchi state government has described the three years intervention of IntegratE 2.0 Project as impactful, particularly in improving maternal and child health in underserved communities, pledging to sustain the gains recorded through existing policies.
The state’s Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Sani Mohammed Dambam WHO stated this at the Close-out and Dissemination Meeting of IntegratE 2.0 Project in Bauchi, explained that the project has benefited a significant number of communities with family planning messaging, delivered service and trained healthcare service providers.
The project, funded by the Gates Foundation, is a health systems-strengthening initiative designed to increase access to quality family planning (FP) and primary healthcare (PHC) services across the state.
Dr Sani Dambam said the progress achieved by the IntegratE 2.0 Project reflects the value of a coordinated action, as it has through Colleges of Health Technology trained about 22 Community Pharmacists and 456 Patent Proprietary Medicine Vendors who provided family planning services and managed under five children.
Also Speaking, the State’s Executive Chairman, Primary Health Care Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed who said the project’s Close-out was a painful one, considering the impact made in improving access to family planning services, appreciated the Gates Foundation for funding its implementation across the focused local government areas over the last three years.
In an address, the Group Managing Director, Society for Family Health (SFH), Dr Omokhudu Idogho, represented by the SFH/IntegratE Northeast Team Lead, Mr Johnson Ekele said the project’s contribution to the significant improvement in maternal and child health could not have been possible without the enabling environment provided by the Bauchi state government.
He also acknowledged the contribution of all stakeholders and other partners towards the successful and smooth implementation of the project.
Radio Nigeria learned that the overall goal of IntegratE 2.0 was to increase access to and utilise quality Family Planning and selected Primary Health Care services through trained providers, while strengthening the systems required to sustain the services.
In Bauchi State, IntegratE 2.0, funded by the Gates Foundation, was introduced in April 2023 and implemented through a consortium led by the SFH and implemented in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, State Primary Health Care Board, National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers as well as Community Pharmacists of Nigeria.
The IntegratE 2.0 Project Close-out and Dissemination Meeting brought togethers stakeholders from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), NAFDAC, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Foundation, Pharmacists Society of Nigeria (PSN), Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Garu Islamic College of Health Technology Bauchi among others.
The event witnessed the presentation of awards to Representatives of collaborating organisations, government officials among others.
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