Celebrating the impact of its community health project, Outreach Medical Services marked its one-year anniversary of providing quality healthcare services to the Ovade community in Oghara Delta State under the Delta State Contributory Health Commission (DSCHC), in an innovative Public-Private Partnership with Delta State Government.
Through the project, over 1,500 children have been treated over the last year. Antenatal care has also increased by 500 percent, with over 45 deliveries and over 100 pregnant women currently nearing their expected delivery dates.
Education and sensitization added to the programmes have increased immunization in the community, BusinessDay learnt.
Appreciating the support of its partners in executing the project, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Outreach Medical Services, Efunbo Dosekun, noted that in addition to healthcare services, they are currently already providing clean water for the communities, and there are plans to provide solar/inverter energy.
“And in the next one year, we hope that everyone in Oghara has good health knowledge to sustain healthy lifestyle, surveillance screening, relevant immunization access like tetanus vaccine for all farmers, and people with illnesses can access the center early before second-tier or tertiary care is required,” she said.
The Representative of the Ovade Community, Frederick Efefaroro expressed gratitude to PharmAccess and DSCHC for identifying Ovade and bringing the project to the community. He pledged his support for the scheme, assuring that he will do his part to enlighten the indigenes of the community on the importance of the project.
PharmAccess Foundation in partnership with the Delta State Contributory Health Commission (DSCHC) designed this innovative framework which has allowed private sector organizations to upgrade, manage, and run public PHCs with access to finance at concessionary rates.
The aim was to revitalize non-functional primary healthcare centres and create more access points for the community.
Also, the framework was designed to encourage Public-Private-Partnership between the State government and Private healthcare providers with the sole aim of providing affordable and quality healthcare in government-owned health infrastructures, particularly infrastructures that are defunct and dilapidated but have the potential of catering for communities with limited access to healthcare facilities.
Currently, the scheme is implemented in only 15 health facilities by Delta State through the DSCHC, taken up by various healthcare providers and are providing healthcare to over 50,000 residents in about 50 of the hard-to-reach communities of the state.
The Country Director of PharmAccess Foundation, Njide Ndili believes that the project is a new model that could change the way healthcare is delivered, especially in the rural areas with the involvement of the private sector.
She noted that results, mostly anchored on community engagement of the private sector and better quality of care, have been encouraging, stating that to change the way healthcare is delivered in rural areas, the government needs to lead the process, with dedicated support from the private sector for effectiveness and efficiency.
Trust in the healthcare system is essential for us to achieve UHC and this framework which is anchored on sustainability, scalability, transparency, effectiveness, and efficiency is a model which must be studied, she said.
“It’s crucial that when implementing a new innovation, that you select dedicated and passionate partners.
“I believe this is a very important project not just for PharmAccess, but for Nigeria. Based on the lessons we have learned so far, we are looking to replicate this framework across as many other abandoned primary healthcare centres across the country as possible with the appropriate enabling environments,” she adds.
Also speaking, the director-general of the Delta State Contributory Health Commission (DSCHC), Ben Nkechika expressed delight on the impact of the project in the community, while also assuring of the agency’s full support to help the healthcare workers in delivering quality services.
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