By Kingsley Agim
Cross River State Government has called for more integrated action on health related programmes from implementing partners, non-profit and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other agencies in the State.
Relating government's position, while playing host to the State Coordinator of Breakthrough Action Nigeria (a nonprofit organisation), who was in his office on a courtesy visit, Thursday, in Calabar, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, said: "Cross River State is in the forefront of Universal Health Coverage. We cannot do otherwise than to advocate for a more integrated approach from partners.
"If you implement two or three vertical programmes, however integrated there are, would not maximise your own effort. It is easier and cheaper to spend on more programmes, because it is same people you are using to implement and achieve all you set out to. For instance, if you are talking about family planning, nutrition, tuberculosis, malaria and so forth, and you know what Universal Health Coverage is - about basic health care services.
"Because the purpose of UHC is about access to quality and affordable healthcare, if you identify a malnourished tuberculosis child; give that child all the treatment, at the end, you will realise that such treatment is ineffective because of malnutrition. It is on this basis that the government of Cross River is advocating for and would support partners that bring more integrated actions than just a limited few to the State."
The Health Commissioner asked partners to take advantage of the cost effectiveness in carrying out more integrated programmes, while urging them to increase their programmes when next they are drawing work plan for Cross River State.
"It is the concern of the government of Cross River to do a more intensive integration of health programmes in the State to give us a better reach for our pursuit of Universal Health Coverage," he remarked.
In her remarks, Pascaline Edim, the State Coordinator of Breakthrough Action Nigeria, informed that her organisation concerns itself with igniting collective action and encouraging people to adopt healthier behaviors by forging, testing, and scaling up new and hybrid approaches to social and behavior change (SBC).
She said their area of interest are social mobilisation, malaria and tuberculosis, etc, with community volunteers implementing house-to-house, sensitising people about diseases, while informing that Breakthrough Action Nigeria, PMI for States and Global Health Supply Chain, all partner to cater to demand creation, service delivery and commodity provision, respectively.
She expressed her organisation's readiness to partner with the Ministry of Health to improve on service delivery for the citizens of the State.
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