Agency charges Ondo residents to protect govt infrastructural projects

The Programme Officer for the Global Fund/National Agency for the Control of AIDS/Resilient Sustainable System for Health/COVID-19 Response Mechanism Project, Mrs. Jumoke Ogunyemi-Abereowo, has appealed to residents of Ondo state to maintain and properly care for the government-provided infrastructure in their localities.

Ogunyemi-Abereowo, who made this call at a one-day roundtable media meeting held in Akure to showcase the progress recorded so far in implementing the project in the state, called on the residents to utilize the facilities very well rather than destroy them.

“It is high time for us in Ondo state to take ownership of every development work we see around our community, especially in our workplaces, because it is not enough for the government to monitor all the facilities alone.

“We must ensure that all government facilities are put in order, and we should play our own part towards ensuring optimal service delivery by the service provider to the community people.

“We see the health sector as a baby for us to nurture and for us to put more concentration to ensure that the best is given so that we can do the right thing.”

Ogunyemi-Abereowo said the objectives of the project are to strengthen governance, coordination, and data use across ATM services at all levels.

According to her, the project also aims to support states through state and LGAs engagement to build capacity to coordinate and manage health programs.

“It seeks to address gaps in the systems and infrastructures through strategic interventions to ensure efficient and effective outcomes.

“At this time, when we are talking about optimal service delivery, the RSSH/C19RM has been able to do the best by putting their energy into ensuring that the community people take ownership of government facilities because we have seen what we recorded in the course of our presentation. We can see the donations of chairs and others to most of our communities through the efforts of this project.

“So, it is a call to duty for every one of us to play our part. We don’t have to wait until the government will come to do it for us.

“We have also expressed our concern to the government that they should try as much as possible to enable every system to be put in the right way. A proper check should be placed on people working in government facilities.

“Also, training and retraining of staff, monitoring the facilities is very important; it should be a continuous exercise so that we can achieve optimal service delivery.”

While presenting the background on the project and the composition of network Civil Society Organisations and Community-Based Organisations implementers, Ogunyemi-Abereowo said, “the Covid-19 Response Mechanism and Resilient Sustainability System for Health, Community System Strengthening (C19RM & RSSH CSS) grant is designed to contribute to supporting the efforts in preventing and strengthening systems on COVID-19 containment.

“It seeks to address gaps in the system and infrastructure through strategic intervention to ensure efficient and effective outcomes.

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“The Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) is one of the partners and Technical Service Organizations (TSOs) to NACA and is implementing the community components of the grant.

“The major responsibilities of NEPWHAN on the project will be to establish Community-Led Monitoring Teams (CLMTs) and strengthen the capacity of facility-based community networks, frontline staff, and volunteers to advocate for increased national, state, and LGA support for ATM on COVID-19.”

Sharing some of their achievements across health facilities in the state, Ogunyemi-Abereowo said that through the implementation of the Global Fund/NACA/RSSH/C19RM project, the grant has helped to establish a strong foundation which has been laid to ensure a key integration of the three main disease programs, HIV, TB, and Malaria, by the Global Fund and other donors.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the State Coordinator of Civil Society on Malaria Elimination, Immunisation and Nutrition Network in Nigeria (ACOMIN), Adeyemi Junaid, said, “what we are saying is for the strengthening of community development and identifying with the existing structures created by the government so that the community and the people will see it as their own, not as government property.

“We are working in collaboration with the government and people, and our intervention is just to monitor, harness the relationship, to close the gap that has been created, and that is why we are mobilizing the people of Ondo state to look back within their communities and not to neglect the infrastructure being constructed by the government in their areas. But rather to utilize the government facilities within their communities well.”

The Olujigba of Ijigba, in Akure South Local Government Area of the state, Oba Luyi Rotimi, who also spoke at the media roundtable engagement meeting, said he was impressed with the successes recorded so far, just as he appealed to all stakeholders to do more.