NGO Holds Quarterly Coordination Meeting, Tasks CBOs On Commitment, Carries Advocacy Visits To DSCHC, DSPH CDA

NGO Holds Quarterly Coordination Meeting, Tasks CBOs On Commitment, Carries Advocacy Visits To DSCHC, DSPH CDA

By Magnus Emuji 

A Non-Governmental Organization, known as Civil Society Organization on Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN) has urged their  Community Based Organizations implementing the Community-Led Monitoring project (CLM) to show more commitment and passion on their responsibilities towards ensuring improved healthcare service delivery.

The Delta State Chairman of ACOMIN, Pastor Gregory Sifo stated this in Asaba during their Quarterly Coordination Meeting with state partners and CBOs.

Sifo implored them to always integrate all the thematic disease areas such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as Gender-based Violence issues whenever they were interfering with individuals in the communities where they were intervening on behalf of the organization.

Also speaking, the State Program Officer of the Organization, Sir Austin Uwede told the CBOs to carryout proper documentation and adhere to reporting timelines and guidelines so as to be able to produce quality reports.

The  Program Manager of ACOMIN, Mrs. Nnenna Ihua and the National Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Mr. Peter O. Olayinka admonised the CBOs to shun nonchalant attitude to their work and ensure effective and timely submission of their reports.

In their goodwill messages, the Program Manager for Malaria in the Delta State Ministry of Health, Mrs. Julie Aniah, the representative of Society for Family Health (SFH), Mrs. Mercy Momoh, a Public Health Officer for the State Tuberculosis, Leprosy Control Programme, Dr. Francis Bakpa , a representative of  SASCAP a Department under Public Health, Ministry of Heath, Mr. Kelvin Igwe and the State Coordinator of Network of Persons With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Mr. Christopher Ogberetitinor  reminded the CBOs that there was reward in hard work, hence they should continue to put in their best in the ACOMIN project in order to achieve results.

At the Delta State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme Commission where Sifo and Uwede led ACOMIN team on an advocacy visit, the duo stated that they were at the  Contributory Health Insurance  Scheme Commission to see how they can collaborate with them in promoting access to healthcare services.

Uwede informed the Director-General of the Commission, Dr. Isaac Akpoveta that their organization were implementing free HIV/AIDS, free Tuberculosis and free Malaria services in 13 States with Delta State inclusive, adding that they had covered 16 local government areas in the State.

While saying that ACOMIN, Management  Sciences for Heath (MSH) and the Society for Family Health (SFH) were the three organisations engaged by the Institute for Human Virology Nigeria to execute the project, Uwede enjoined individuals with health service needs to always visit any of their  supported facilities including Okwe General Hospital, Police Clinic, the Clinic at the State Secretariat, Obior, and Isele-Azagba among other PHCs across the State to access free HIV/AIDS , free Tuberculosis and free Malaria testing and collect drugs(medications) for the treatment.

Uwede stated that ACOMIN encourages people to make use of the nearest healthcare facilities to them rather than relying on "Agbo" and chemists for unnecessary self medication, even as he lauded the Delta State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme Commission for achieving over 35 percent for the contributory health insurance coverage which he said was one of the best in Nigeria.

Responding, the Director-General of Delta State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme Commission, Dr. Isaac Akpoveta, represented by the Communication Officer of the Commission, Mrs. Patricia Gbemudu explained that with the payment of tht sum of N7,000 , indigent persons would benefit and access the services for a period of one year.

Dr. Akpoveta said that their premium of N7,000  in which they appeal to well meaning individuals, particularly philanthropists to purchase health cards for vulnerable persons under their Indigents Enrollees  Adoption Initiative was cheap and affordable just as he described ACOMIN's project as a laudable initiative.

Similarly, ACOMIN visited the Delta State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to interface with the Director of  Planning, Research and Statistics in the Agency, Dr. Charles Eboka to strengthen collaboration and intimate the Agency with their findings from the various healthcare centres.

Uwede said that in some of the PHCs visited they discovered that most of the drugs supplied through the sponsorship of MTN were for secondary facilities that are not useful to the PHCs, he also complained about the unavailability essential commodities and lack of drugs in most of the facilities.

Sifo urged the Agency to intensify efforts in carrying out monitoring visits to PHCs in order to fish out service providers who are in one way or the other compromising  service delivery.

Earlier, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics of the Agency, Dr. Charles Eboka clarified that in the  Basic Healthcare Fund, patients can access free essential drugs. He also said that the drugs supplied by the MTN could not be moved to secondary facilities without their consent, he said that he will interface with them for redistribution to secondary facilities.

He stated that through the Drugs Revolving Fund, some healthcare facilities offer free  drugs, under the equity fund which includes pregnant women.

He also said that  the Agency has been on monitoring visit to PHCs since February 2026 to fish out defaulters who mismanaged the funds given to PHC and recommends appropriate sanctions.