NACHPN Takes Step To Strengthen Nig’s Health System

The National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria, NACHPN, has called for the inclusion of Telemedicine in the training curriculum of Community Health Practitioners in the country.

This is contained in a Communique at the end of NACHPN’s National Workshop held in Kano State with the theme”Strengthening the Nigerian Health System: Roles of Community Health Practitioners”.

According to the Communique, a possible and sustainable telemedicine scheme needed to be developed by the Association as a unified window for improving the national Primary Health Care system thereby improving healthcare service uptake and delivery in Nigeria.

” Inclusion of telemedicine into training curriculum of Community Health Practitioners in schools. Education of Community members on the proposed scheme should be effective and exhaustive while the recent digitization in the system by the Board of NACHPN should be logically supervised for sustenance and optimal security from cyber- looters and fraudsters” It explains.

The Communique reads” the leadership of NACHPN should pragmatically engage with the Board to sustain the tempo of digital transformation in the face of possible resistance from any quarter of the profession and accredited Training Institutions should be well educated and trained on the new form of digitalisation while continuous and effective education on ICT must be encouraged among practitioners and students for acquittance with digitisation”.

While commending Kano State Chapter of NACHPN for hosting a successful National Workshop that was well coordinated, the Communique calls for appropriate and efficient implementation of the concept of Primary Health Care under one roof and should be well adhered to for an improved interface with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

“Out of pocket expenditure in health care financing should be discouraged through an effective implementation of Basic Health Care Provision Fund programme in all LGAs and adequate monitoring and coordination of the scheme be put in place”.

“Identified bottlenecks and bureaucratic tendencies militating against the system should be removed for the masses to enjoy basic healthcare service delivery and there should be creation of awareness amongst the public in order for the general population to be well informed of the provision and rights they have to access quality health care service delivery” the Communique states.

It advises the Board to make a policy statement that will ensure that private Colleges of Health science includes photocopies of their accreditation approval before their students will be allowed to do their clinical practice.

The Communique also emphasized that the health system strengthening should be built into their curriculum.

“Policy on Community Health Practitioners establishing private Primary Health Centres should be reviewed and regulated within the ambit of the Ministry of Health of each State to commensurate with the recognized quality and standard of training of practitioners while the Board and National Association should work in collaboration to ensure that Community Health Practitioners are recognized amongst other health care professionals instead of being referred to as “others”.the Communique adds.

Mathew Ayoola, Edited By Grace Namiji