Solacebase Holds Town Hall Meeting on Improving Health Care System in Jigawa
By Aliyu Dangida
HOTPEN – Fridabs Solacebase Communications, publishers of Solacebase online newspaper has organized a town hall meeting geared towards improving health care system in Jigawa State.
HotPen reports that the program themed; “Community Health Development through Participatory Involvement’’, was part of an investigative and accountability project tagged Rural Health Accountability Project (RHAP), which had in attendance various stakeholders from health and other sectors in the state.
Flagging up the event, Solacebase Publisher, Abdullateef Abubakar Jos, said the meeting was geared towards addressing the challenges militating access to quality health care services at rural areas and epidemics preparedness of the state.
‘’With our visit to some PHCs in some of the communities in Jigawa , we believe that the people and the government can interface on what needed to be done to improve access to health care at the grass-root.’’
On his part, a medical expert, Dr. Muhammad Namadina with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital calls for collaboration between the government and the community as a measure to improve health care services at rural areas.
He urged the government to give priority to epidemic preparedness with sensitization of the populace on measures to adopt in case of outbreaks and participatory deployment of resources for transparency.
Some of the participants whom are health care givers decried lack of motivation from the state government to health workers.
‘’One of our major problems is lack of promotion and good incentives that can encourage a person to want to do more,’’ the health professionals lamented.
Also, some of the participants raised concern on inadequate health personnel at Primary Health Care centers in the state.
In a remark, the Jigawa State House of Assembly Chief Whip, Alhaji Lawan Garba Muhammad said the assembly has always been supportive of the state government with legal frame work that would improve access to health care delivery in the state.
‘’The support of the house of assembly to the executive as measure to address shortage of manpower include the law establishing two more colleges of Nursing in Hadejia and Babura as well as improving that of Birnin- Kudu, ‘’Muhammad said.
Muhammad appreciated the initiative of the town hall meeting for stakeholders to evolve ways of improving the healthcare delivery in Jigawa.
Participants at the meeting include community leaders, civil society organizations, health care givers, lawmakers, policy implementers, and security agents.
Meanwhile, campus outreach and advocacy were also conducted by Fridabs Solacebase Communications, at Jigawa State School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birnin Kudu on Wednesday on the need for students to embrace rural posting as a measure to improve manpower shortage at the grass-root.