COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 2ND SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS OF NIGERIA (SPHPN)  HELD IN ABUJA, 12TH-15TH NOVEMBER 2014.

 

Members of the Society of Public Health Professionals of Nigeria (SPHPN) converged on the international Conference Center, Abuja from the 12th to 15th  November, 2014 for their 2nd Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting. There were over one hundred and fifty (150) participants from the Federal and  State Ministries, Departments and Agencies; Public and  Private sector health facilities; International Development Partner Agencies; Non Governmental  Organizations Academia and the private sector.

 

The Chief Host was the Hon. Minister for the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed; the Special Guest of Honour was the Hon. Minister of State for Health and  supervising Minister of Health, Dr.Khaliru Alhassan while the Country Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Rui Vaz was the Guest of  Honour.

 

During the two days of the Conference, several scientific papers were presented and experiences on many public health interventions were shared by members.  Topical amongst these were the presentations by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on the containment of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria and the  National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) on the strategies to end the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Nigeria. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) also  made presentations which generated deliberations on Universal Health Care (UHC) for Nigerians; while the Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA)  discussed the strategies to eradicate polio from Nigeria.

 

At the end of the conference participants resolved as follows

1.  Commendation for the Governments of Nigeria, at all levels for the early containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and recommeded strengthening and  sustaining activities at the ports of entry; community mobilization; surveillance and disease notification among other necessary measures for retaining our  Ebola-free status. The conference also recommended that the principles adopted to control Ebola such as strong intergovernmental and intersectoral  collaboration; community participation; and effectives resources mobilization be applied to the control of all other diseases in the country. The society  further called for a comprehensive policy on National Public Health emergencies.

 

 

2.  Universal Health Insurance coverage in the country was recommended as a principal method towards improving the health status of the populace as funding  of health services stands as the key to ensuring adequate access. The conference advocated the strengthening of the health system at all levels as well as  the need to adequately extend coverage to the rural areas where seventy percent of the population reside. The federal government should encourage the state  governments and private sector to key into the national health insurance scheme, in the best interest of the Nigerian people

 

3.  Funding of health programmes and activities by all tiers of government should be improved upon in order to enhance sustainability should be improved upon in order to to enhance sustainability of the programmes. Activities of partner agencies in the health sector should be properly integrated to improve  efficiency and effectiveness in the application of scarce resources.

 

4.  The SPHPN is concerned about the plight of millions on Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS and strongly supports the President's Comprehensive Response Plan  

for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. It recommends its immediate implementations for a speedy and successful achievement of an end to the AIDS epidemic in Nigeria.

 

5. The efforts and innovative strategies adopted by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, especially through the establishment of an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in the final push against polio in Nigeria despite the daunting security challenges are commendable and should be supported on a  sustainable basis by the Federal, State and Local Governments and all other relevant stake holders until the declared objective is achieved.

 

6.  The Society for Public Health Professionals of Nigeria (SPHPN) is being advocated as a veritable means for integrating all the existing organizations in  the public health services arena in the country. This would serve as a reliable method of building teams and reducing potentials for crises in the health  sector.

 

Signed

Dr. M Ashikeni

Chairman, LOC

 

Prof. MC Asuzu

President, SPHPN