By
Abuja – In an effort to ensure better health care
delivery in the rural areas of the country, the Federal government has
introduced Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Service Providers (CHIPS),
Executive Secretary , National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA),
Dr Faisal Shuaib has said.
According to him, about 200,000 CHIPS will be
employed and trained in medical skills to render first aid treatment on women
and children before referring them to the hospital in case of an emergency.
He made this known at the inaugural quarterly
media interactive forum with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and development
parterners to chart a way forward on primary health care system in Nigeria.
He said that the agency needs people who can work
in the localities where they are well known and trusted.
According to him, “The Community Health
Influencers, Promoters and Service Providers that we are talking about are not
doctors.
They are women that are going to be identified by
traditional rulers, political leaders, civil society organisations in the
communities as responsible women who have at least elementary school education,
who can be trained to provide simple skills. We need people to stay in our
rural areas.”
He explained that the Community Health
Influencers, Promoters and Service Providers are going to be a cadre lower than
the Community Health Extension Workers who have abandoned the rural areas to
live in the urban areas.
He however, noted that they would be made to stay
closer to the households and treat simple conditions and offer first aid
services to women and children in the rural communities.
Earlier, the Coordinator of CHR, Dr. Aminu Magashi
Garba, said the forum would not be a one off event as it would be held on
quarterly basis.
He said that the forum tagged #OpenNPHCDA is aimed
at promoting accountability and transparency in governance.
According to him, the purpose of the meeting is to
ensure that government agencies are open, transperant and accountable. “We are
unlocking the agency to have a robot quarterly interactive dialogue”.
