By Nnedinma Okeke
The newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ASPHCDA), Dr Chizoba Prisca Ezeasor, has met with the Agency’s management team, programme officers and the 21 Local Government Area (LGA) Directors of Primary Healthcare to review ongoing activities, identify challenges and chart the way forward.
The separate meetings were held on Aug. 12 at the ASPHCDA office complex, Awka, as part of Ezeasor’s efforts to familiarise herself with the Agency’s operations and gain first hand insight into its programmes and activities.
The engagements also provided an opportunity to identify gaps and discuss practical solutions toward strengthening the state’s primary healthcare system and improving service delivery at the grassroots.
Ezeasor said she expected professionalism, accountability and commitment to duty from staff, stressing the importance of teamwork, prudent management of resources, results oriented operations and effective communication.
She commended the management and staff for their efforts, while calling for a unified system, transparency, innovative ideas and critical thinking in the discharge of their responsibilities.
The Executive Secretary assured the teams that challenges confronting the Agency would be addressed systematically, with practical solutions developed according to their priorities.
Among the challenges highlighted were sub optimal performance of the state cold-chain equipment, inadequate office furniture and dry store facilities, absence of a functional Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) system and a non functional utility vehicle for transporting vaccines from the state cold-chain facility to LGAs.
Other challenges included inadequate staffing in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), delays in approval of memos, overlapping responsibilities, non release of counterpart funds, inadequate work tools such as laptops, poor data entry and management, inadequate training and retraining of personnel, and non functional solar power systems in some PHCs across the state.
The programme officers, including the State Immunisation Officer (SIO), State Health Educator (SHE), State Nutrition Officer (SNO), Monitoring and Evaluation Officer (M&E), Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) Programme Officer, State Breastfeeding Focal Person (BFP), CHIPS Programme Officer, Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Focal Person and HIV Desk Officer, presented updates on their respective responsibilities, activities and challenges.
The officers provided insights into their programmes and made recommendations aimed at strengthening coordination and improving the quality of primary healthcare services across the state.
The Director of Primary Healthcare, Awka North LGA, Dr Chukwudi Njelita, formally welcomed Ezeasor to the Agency.
Njelita expressed appreciation to the Executive Secretary for the interactive sessions, describing them as an opportunity for direct engagement with the various teams and a better understanding of their operational realities.
He prayed for a successful tenure for Ezeasor and wished her wisdom and fulfilment in her new assignment.
Nnedinma Okeke is of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Anambra State
