By Murtala Muhammad
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency says more than three thousand health workers in Bauchi State have been trained to enhance the delivery of optimised primary healthcare services across the state.
A senior officerl from the Agency’s Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation Department, Dr Aminu Musa Bello, disclosed this during a Citizens’ Town Hall Meeting on Primary Health Care in Bauchi, with the theme “Strengthening Primary Healthcare Services”.
Dr Aminu Bello explained that inadequate capacity remained a major constraint in the health sector, which prompted the Basic Health Care Provision Fund to support large-scale training for health workers to improve service delivery.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, said the engagement aims to sensitise stakeholders on the dangers of vaccine rejection and home delivery, both of which undermine the state’s health indicators.
He noted that the forum also provided an avenue to gather public concerns and chart a way forward.
On the issues raised, Islamic scholar Sheikh Ɗan’azumi Tafawa Ɓalewa outlined Islamic perspectives on vaccine acceptance, childbirth spacing and responsible parental upbringing.
Another cleric, Imam Attahiru Bakoji, stressed that misconceptions among some Muslims often hinder positive health practices, emphasising the need for continued training and sensitisation.
Women of reproductive age at the meeting expressed divergent opinions on the free healthcare services and incentives available in some facilities, calling for improvements to prevent further deterioration of the state’s health indicators.
Radio Nigeria Globe FM Bauchi reports that the Citizens’Townhall Meeting on PHC was attended by health workers, representatives of traditional institution, Civil Society Organisations, Media, pregnant and lactating women, Persons With Disabilities, among others.
