In a demonstration to improve primary Healthcare coverage in Bauchi state, USAID through the Integrated Health Program (IHP) is to spend the sum of $47m for a 5-year program which is focusing on integrated child component made of Maternal Newborn Child Health Malaria and Nut (MNCH +MN)
The intervention is covering all the 323 PHCs in the state where technical support is being provided to train the health workers under the health service delivery under one roof program.
A team of Journalists in public health took a visit to some of the health facilities in Katagum LGA to assess the level of the project which in its third year of execution.
During the assessment visit, the USAID funded project was commended by members of the benefiting communities in the Katagum local government area for improving the quality of primary health care services under its Maternal Newborn Child Health and Nutrition programme/ Malaria Service.
The Integrated Health Program (IHP) received $47 million funding from the USAID commenced in 2019 to support Bauchi State implement health care services under a 5 years project titled “Technical support for improved primary health care services” in selected states of Bauchi, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kastina. 
While speaking to the Journalists who visited Primary Health Care Centers at Madangala, Bidir, Makarahuta and Tatari Ali all in Katagum LGA, some of the beneficiaries of the improved health care services said they received support from IHP in the areas of capacity building, health financing, documentation, supply of drugs and commodities.
While at the Bidir PHC, the In-charge of the health facility, Aishatu Bappa said that the facility is rendering health services to include Antenatal care, immunization, essential newborn care, skilled care birth, early detection of referral cases and emergency obstetric care.
She added that the USAID /IHP support has boosted health care delivery services, as there is a massive turn out of women for antenatal, delivery services as well as children who are brought for immunization services at the PHC.
While corroborating the claims of the In-charge, the Chief Nursing Officer of the facility, Maryam Sakwa said that IHP intervention has brought a lot of improvement in the health facility, especially by building their capacities to respond effectively to handle health emergencies.
Maryam Sakwa said that “In the area of curative services, before, if any patient display symptoms of fever, we diagnosed such a patient based on the signs and symptoms of that fever without any investigations carried out, but with the intervention of IHP, we usually send the patient for RTD to diagnose the cause of the fever before giving the appropriate drugs.”
At the Madangala PHC, two beneficiaries of the MNCHN services, Amina Ibrahim, a resident of the Maishanu community and Aishatu Adamu, another resident of the Chokel community, commended USAID IHP health intervention in the primary health centre, saying that they now access medical services free of charge, unlike in the past where they have to go to the major hospitals in the state to access health care.
Amina Ibrahim said that “This USAID IHP health intervention has eased our plight as we access health services free of charge. I particularly benefited from the family planning and child spacing service at this facility as I have space all my pregnancies by three years and all my children are healthy.”
Aishatu Adamu on her own said that “I registered for ante-natal here and gave birth to my baby girl here without any complications, in fact, I was rewarded with some amount of money for completing the routine immunization of the newborn baby.”
At the Makara Huta PHC, women who brought their children for routine immunization commended the USAID: IHP intervention saying that it has positively improved quality health care services delivery in the area.
Chairman of the Ward Development Committee (WDC), Lamara Dandauwa commended the intervention which he said has made assessing quality Healthcare very easy for the community.
He assured that as a committee, the members are doing everything possible to ensure that the facility was well protected in order to continue to enjoy the services, just as he said that his committee will continues to support the efforts.
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