By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a globally acclaimed health interventionist non-profit organization, is set to commence its first Programme for Equitable Expansion of Community-Based Health Workers (PEECH) project in Nigeria with Anambra State.
In a meeting on Wednesday with the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, the Director of the Programme (PEECH), Mr. Anddy Omoluabi, said that initially Anambra was not factored in their plan until two weeks ago when he met and discussed with the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Obidike. “Anambra was not on the radar, but two weeks ago, the Commissioner made a strong case,” Mr. Omoluabi said.
The PEECH programme is specially designed by MSH with support from the Mastercard Foundation to bridge the huge gap in access to medical care in remote areas through a massive expansion in the number of Community Health Workers in Africa. Across Africa, the programme is designed to expand the Community Health Workforce with about 600 thousand new workers between the ages of 18 and 35 years. These numbers are expected to improve the quality of health care delivery for about 50 million people across the African continent. In Nigeria, the programme targets about 44 thousand new Community Health Workers, working in 17 states plus the FCT, across 435 LGAs.
With the visit and formal discussions on Wednesday, Anambra State became the first state visited by MSH for the implementation of PEECH in Nigeria. “Anambra is the first State we are formally visiting,” Mr. Omoluabi said while making his presentation.
The programme is expected to upskill and retrain Community Health Workers, strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions, and ensure a sustainable, fulfilling, and dignified work experience for the health workers. This programme will last for two years, and the MSH would principally contribute towards the capacity building of Community Health Workers, as a prerequisite to expand access to quality medical care across Anambra communities.
Plans are already on the way to work out the implementation of the programme in Anambra State, which is expected to commence in the coming days.
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