The Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Okpala, has promised that his Ministry will support the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency during the forthcoming Community Health Influencers and Promoters Services Programme (CHIPS) in the state.
The Commissioner gave the assurance when the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr Chioma Ezenyimulu, paid him an advocacy visit in his office in Awka.
Dr Okpala noted that the Agency had played important roles in promoting quality healthcare at the grassroots and commended the contributions of the Challenge Initiative to the State Health sector.
He expressed delight that the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund is coming through, observing also that CHIPS would be an anchoring structure that would help in fund’s utilisation, so that the money will have value when it gets to the community to help promote various health interventions.
According to the Commissioner, CHIPS will also help in early identification and intervention to save children who have diarrhea which could lead to dehydration and death.
Earlier, Dr Ezenyimulu to the Health Commissioner that the purpose of the visit was to inform him about the proposed flag-off of the CHIPS Programme in the state.
She explained that the programme was initiated by the National Healthcare Development Agency to address identified gaps and inefficiencies in primary healthcare services at community levels.
According to her, the CHIPS programme would be first implemented across seven Local Government Areas namely; Aguata, Anambra East, Awka South, Anaocha, Ekwusigo, Ihiala and Ogbaru, as well as thirty five wards across some other selected local government areas in the state.
Dr Enyimulu further informed that in the coming days, the Agency would commence stakeholder’s engagements, training of State and Local Government Area levels master trainers as well as subsequent engagement of volunteers.
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