Rotary Club, USAID-IHP Offer Free Health Services to Ebonyi Rural Communities.

The USAID-Integrated Health Program in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Abakaliki and the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health has embarked on massive free health services to rural communities in Ebonyi State.

The health outreach which integrated the Baby Shower intervention of the USAID-IHP also kick-started the Rotary International's family health week events.

It was kicked off on Tuesday at Ndigwe Health Centre, Igbeagu Community, Izzi local government area of the state.

The event featured free drugs, laboratory services, diagnosis and treatment for about 3,000 men and women from the community.

It also principally featured free maternal and child health services, including antenatal, postnatal care, immunization as well as nutrition services aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality and morbidity in the state

Speaking to newsmen, the President, Rotary Club of Abakaliki, zone 25, district 9142, Rotarian Timothy Nwite, explained that Rotary, as an International humanitarian club embarks on many life-touching projects on regular basis.

He noted that the Club has provided drugs worth hundreds of thousands of naira as well as manpower, enough to offer quality services to the patients through the outreach.

Nwite explained: "Every month Rotary carries out a particular project, and this month is maternal and child health.

"Under this project, we are collaborating with USAID-IHP in its Baby Shower initiative, to give antenatal, postnatal care to pregnant and nursing mothers.

"But this time, we have gone beyond maternal and child health to caring for the youths, adolescents, adults men and women.

"We have also provided gifts under the Baby shower initiative as incentive to mothers who deliver in health facilities."

The Data Analyst for USAID-IHP, Ebonyi State, Stanley Ezenwankwo, who led the IHP team, further explained that the overall idea of the Baby Shower initiative was to encourage pregnant women to deliver in facilities, and for those that have delivered in the facility to get their children immunized with different antigens at the facility.

He added that it was also aimed at encouraging Antenatal care attendance in government approved health facilities and discourage pregnant women from patronizing quacks in the Communities.

Ezenwankwo maintained that USAID-IHP specifically offers technical support to facilities, adding that it has mobilized volunteer health workers to assist the facilities in attending to pregnant women, mothers and their children.

He noted that IHP, within the over 4 years of its intervention activities in Ebonyi state has made tremendous impact in strengthening health systems of the state through capacity building, technical assistance and data enhancement.

Ezenwankwo emphasized: "Datawise, we have gone far beyond what we met on ground when we came to the state.

"For instance, before IHP came over 4 years ago, the state was not getting their health data completely reported to the District Health Information System, DHIS, on time for up to 75%, but today, we are doing above 90% as the case may be.

"We should have been doing 100% reporting on time now if not for some Communities with pockets of communal crises in one or two local government areas that hinder timely reporting.

"We have also done a lot in capacity building for facilities' staff, local government Monitoring and Evaluation officers, and other categories of human resource for health which also includes trainings aimed at timely transmission of this service data to DHIS on monthly basis.

"Ultimately, the goal of USAID-IHP is that the State should be able to sustain these achievements and own them."

Representative of the state Ministry of health, Rotarian Ngozi Aloh, in her reactions expressed optimism that Governor Nwifuru's administration which is favourably disposed to the health sector would sustain and advance upon the gains so far achieved in the Baby Shower, Open Maternity days and other initiatives of IHP.

Aloh, the Desk Officer for Open Maternity and Baby Shower initiative in the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, however, maintained that sustainability of the project requires a high level advocacy to, and collaboration from relevant stakeholders and offices, including the office of the wife of the Governor and her foundation, Better Health for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Persons, BERWO, to secure their full support.

Some of the medical personnel who spoke with newsmen including a consulting Doctor, John Omogo; the Laboratory team lead, Daniel Negede and Nurses Njideka Igwe and Emmanuella Alegu, described the experience as both interesting and exciting.

They applauded the initiative noting that the outreach has given confidence to the people that they can actually access quality healthcare services in Primary healthcare facilities, thereby reducing their patronage of quacks.

"It's interesting serving humanity, seeing people happy and putting smiles in their faces", Nurse Igwe summed.

Some of the beneficiaries, Mary Ota, Chinelo Nwoba and Chioma Nwazuphu, while appreciating the Rotary Club and USAID -IHP for the gesture, prayed God to reward them.

Nwazuphu advised other women to always patronize government health facilities and avoid quacks.

Beneficiary mothers went home with assorted maternal and new born gifts: soaps, towels, powder, baby oils, diapers and lots more.