By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
The need for Governments at all levels to brace up and source for alternative funding models for the various interventions has been stressed considering the fact most of the projects are gradually closing out.
The call was made by the Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed during a Bauchi Stakeholders Engagement Meeting held on Wednesday at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Health with support from The Challenge Initiative (TCI).
He stressed that the sudden closure of activities by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has grounded most of the interventions in the health sector particularly issues of family planning (FP) leading to shortage of commodities and consumables across the State.
The meeting which focused on how to navigate the problem brought together relevant Stakeholders including Journalists on Public health trying to ensure that the success recorded in the sector did not amount to naught.
The EC stressed that, “It is time to wake up, own all the interventions and seek for ways to generate funding in order to sustain them for the benefit of our people. These donors and international development partners are not going to be here forever. We need to create local solutions to the problem immediately.”
Also speaking, the Director, Medical Services, in the Ministry of Health, Dr Suleiman Auwal Abubakar emphasized the need to ensure that the gains made in the family planning was sustained by ensuring that commodities and consumables were made available.
He added that all the relevant stakeholders must mobilize resources to get the commodities and consumables available now that women of child bearing age and their husbands have embraced the system.
On the issue of Advocacy, it was agreed that though there had been a rigorous awareness creation across the State, such should be sustained to keep the clients abreast of the current situation.
Members of the Journalists for Public Health and Development Initiative (J4PD) were charged to come up with a sustainable advocacy proposal that will galvanize the situation.
Executive Director of J4PD assured that members are always ready but the problem of unavailability of commodities and consumables has slowed down the pace as the clients are always asking.
Also speaking, TCI Lead, expressed the determination of the organization to provide technical support for the implementation of the FP programme even though it has close out its intervention in the state.
Others who spoke at the meeting, stressed the need to ensure that both commodities and consumables for the FP were made available at all designated facilities while a very strong advocacy team is raised to go round.
It was also suggested that the relevant agencies, led by the Ministry of Health should do everything possible to draw from the allocation made for FP in the 2025 budget of the State with the assurance that the State Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed will give his approval in that direction.
The meeting brought together Members of the Bauchi State Advocacy Sustainability Initiative (BASI), who were key in the Creation of Budget line for Child birth Spacing Activities in the State.
