Bauchi State Government is working with USAID-IHP to review and validate health sector fact-sheet so as to enhance knowledge sharing on the performance of the sector.
This is in a renewed strategy to provide reliable and dependable health sector information in a more precise way and respond to health information scarcity and insufficiency.
Speaking at the review workshop held at Jamil Hotel and Suites in Azare, headquarters of Katagum LGA, the Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Health, Alhaji Ali Babayo, acknowledged the huge support extended to the state by USAID-IHP in all faces of service delivery and quality of care in the state in spite of the perennial challenges that led to poor data indices of the state.
The Permanent Secretary also explained that USAID-IHP had contributed to ensuring the State training and retraining of health workers at their places of work under low-dose high-frequency methods.
As such, he stressed that it is a situation where no health worker would miss attending to clients at all the facilities across the state for effective and efficient healthcare service delivery.
Ali Babayo further pointed out that Bauchi State Government will continue to prioritize health sector, which is the reason it has recently employed additional workers in order to fill up gaps on those that had retired from service.
He stressed that, “the State is happy that USAID-IHP has come in to support the development of a fact sheet which will help present data and also help interpret these data “.
Aliyu Babayo also said the issue of fact sheet for the State has lingered for long, he, therefore, appreciated the financial and technical support provided by USAID IHP in the area of various health interventions.
State Director, USAID-IHP, Bauchi, Dr Alhassan Siaka said that the fact sheet will enable stakeholders in the health sector to review progress in the implementation of health policies.
According to him, “We have realised that the major challenge in the health sector is that of human resource for health, so we are to look at various strategies to be able to bridge the gap.”
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BSPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed appreciated the Stakeholders for taking time to critically study the 2022 fact-sheet and come out with reviewed and validated document that would aid effective information management and sharing about the performance and operations of the Bauchi State Health sector.
Participants were drawn from all lined health MDAs, objectives and keynote addresses and remarks by Chairman House committee on Health were presented for further discussions.
In the course of the exercise, there was a presentation on the Indicators Trend and Achievements by Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer from USAID-IHP, Samson Adeyemi, who tried to expose some of the key areas Bauchi State was able to make progress but with epileptic changes at many levels in ANC, PNC, skilled birth delivery and maternal deaths.
He said that USAID IHP has provided interventions in the health sector since 2019 including the introduction of automated appointment reminders to clients, automated job aid calls where healthcare providers can call toll-free and listen to messages on diseases.
Samson Adeyemi added that the hotline complaints themes has given clients the opportunities to and made complaints on worker attitude, available or otherwise of drugs and the health facilities environment.
According to him, “USAID IHP Bauchi works in 411 primary Health Care Centers, 22 general hospitals, 43 private facilities and with 400 property patent medicine vendors.”
Another paper was presented on referral that conducted and highlighted the achievements in the implementation of SBC refferal system in the state performed by Breakthrough Action Nigeria.
In another presentation on the Bauchi State Health Sector Profile, the Director Planning Research and Statistics of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency Dr Jibreel Umar Muhammad said despite the over 1000 health facilities in the State, health indicators are still very low.
Again, Dr Jibreel Omar Muhammad provided an insight about the state and its health indices, noting that the State M&E Officer, Adamu Bara has rally round on scorecard comparison.
He analyzed quarter 1-2 2022 and the quarter 1 of data quality assessments, quarter 1 2023 while discussion was channeled towards how to conceptualize state owned fact-sheet document.
However, at the meeting, participants were grouped into 5 including leadership and governance, Health Financing, Human Resource for Health, PHC Services Monitoring (IMSS), as well as Gender equality and social inclusion.
The grouping will enable them come out with a workable data documents for effective and efficient healthcare service delivery across the state.
Basically, Health fact-sheet regularly produces and updates a practical performances of health, it highlighted key messages and summarize impact in priority areas, health system strengthening and innovation.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then