A new intervention in Family planning services as a healthcare component in Bauchi State health sector has been launched.
The intervention known as ‘IntegratE 2.0 Project’, is a Bill and Melinda Gate funded intervention that is going to be implemented by a six member consortium led by Society for Family in the state.
The disclosure was made by North East Regional Manager of the IntegratE 2.0 Project, John Ekele, while speaking at an inception meeting held on Thursday, 27th April, 2023 at Chartwell Hotel, Bauchi.
He said that the project is to work with 400 proprietary patent medicines vendors PPMVs and 20 Community Pharmacies CPs to integrate family planning uptake and expansion of other Primary Health Care services in Bauchi State .
John Ekele also said that the meeting objective was to introduce IntegratE 2.0 Project to the state and facilitate the collaborative selection of Local Government Areas in Bauchi state where the project will be implemented.
He further pointed out that the project will seek to advance the quality of family planning services as provided by community pharmacies and proprietary patent medicines vendors.
The Regional Manager also said that the project with a lifespan of 5 years, was first piloted in other states from 2017 to 2021 and that the success recorded in the pilot states gave reasons for its scale up to the North East which made Bauchi to be a beneficiary State.
He added that the Project will use three strategies that include, creating an enabling environment through policy formulation, strengthening service delivery, research and monitoring and evaluation.
According to him, “We will train and work with 400 proprietary patent medicines vendors ( PPMVs) and 20 Community Pharmacies in Bauchi State.
“The other primary Health Care Services expansion will cover malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malnutrition”.
Bauchi State Technical Advisor of the project, Umar Abdulrazak said that the inception meeting was to introduce IntegratE 2.0 to the state and facilitate the collaborative selection of Local government areas where the project will be implemented.
He also said that the project will pilot new approaches to promote the integration of family planning and PHC services into Community Pharmacies and proprietary patent medicines vendors.
Bauchi State Commissioner of health Dr.Sabiu Abdu Gwalabe, represented by an official of the ministry, assured of government’s commitment to provide the enabling environment for the successful implementation of project.
The project will be implemented in ten local government areas of Bauchi State..
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