Firm Trains 950 Private Health Providers in Kano

 Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

The Regional Programme Officer of the newly launched IntegratE, Mr. Dayyabu Mahmud Yusuf, has announced that the project is set to train 950 private health providers in Kano by 2026.

Dayyabu spoke over the weekend while presenting an overview of the proj­ect and said the targeted beneficiaries are Community Pharmacists and Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs).

He said they needed support from the stakeholders for the programme to succeed, saying that they were collaborating with the state government towards ensuring an enabling environment for the project.

Yusuf explained that the project started as a four-year programme in Lagos and Kaduna States, adding that currently they were authorised to undertake such services in other states.

According to him, under the project, which is core-sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gate Foun­dation, concentrates on core care of provision of hygiene, they are now working in 11 states of the federation including, Kano, Nasarawa, Gombe and Enugu among others.

In his address the state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, thanked the Society for Family Health for its intervention to­wards supporting the state in this direction.

The commissioner represent­ed by the Director Pharmaceutical Ser­vices of the ministry, Mr. Ghali Sule, described the initiative as timely as it would go a long way in improving and having positive impact on family planning in the state.

He appreciated the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) for its support, and conveyed the approval of the implemen­tation of the programme in the state.

On his part, the Project Director of In­tegratE Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Okafor, expressed appreciation to the state government for providing an enabling environment for health services to thrive in the state.

Okafor emphasised the need for the citizens to demand for quality service.

“The citizens should be made to understand the need to begin to demand for such quality ser­vices from such service providers.

“Even the beneficiaries should be aware of services they are provided with,” he said.

Okafor described IntegratE as a concept that targeted community pharmacists Proprietary Patent Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) that have the ca­pacity to provide a wide range of primary health care services.

He said they were working in conjunction with the PCN in pursuing their objectives.

He said that they have since put in a structure for proper supervision under the project.