Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
The Delta State Government has inaugurated a 12-member Steering Committee on World Bank Assisted Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress for Accelerated Coverage and Transformation Services, IMPACT Project.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the inauguration of the committee, the Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Co-Chairman of the project, Dr. Barry Gbe, said that the state keyed into the Immunisation Plus’ component of the project owing to its invaluable benefits for the state’s healthcare delivery system.
Gbe said, “IMPACT is designed to achieve a balance between the need and to achieve rapid results through priority programmes affecting under-five health and the requirement of strengthening primary healthcare for long-term sustainability.
“As the first phase of a 10-year engagement the project invests, among others, in launching and evaluating bold innovations in service delivery, improving demand for health services, improving facility performance and health systems management and accountability more broadly and increasing data-driven decision making.
“IMPACT will comprise four components: Malaria Control, Immunisation Plus, Knowledge Change and Continent Emergency Response.”
He further said that strengthening the service delivery sub-component, “will finance interventions that will strengthen routine immunisation, maternal, child, neonatal service delivery in the context of strengthening Primary Healthcare in 13 states in the country, including Delta.”
Listing the beneficiaries of the programme to include under-five children and women in participating states, he said the health systems improvements would have impact on the overall state populations in addition to the main beneficiaries.
Gbe added that Delta and other benefitting states, under the Immunisation Plus component, were selected based on their routine immunisation performance, service delivery gaps and funding gaps.
Members of the committee have the State Commissioner for Health as Chairman, Commissioner for Economic Planning (Co-Chairman), Commissioner for Finance; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health; and, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning.
Others are the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Permanent Secretary/Accountant-General; Director, Overseas Development Assistance; Representative of UNICEF; Representative of CSOs (J.D Foh Development Foundation); Permanent Secretary, State Primary Health Care Development Agency; and, the Project Manager.
