COMMUNIQUE Issued at the National Stakeholders Meeting by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency

Posted on: Wed 24-08-2016

Communique Issued at the National Stakeholders Meeting on Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Project in Nigeria Organized by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Abuja.

The National Stakeholders Meeting on Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (RMNCH) Project which was held at NO Greenwich Hotel, Gudu, Abuja on 29 - 30' June, 2016 was organized by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Abuja.

The meeting which was declared opened by the Executive Director/CEO NPHCDA, Dr Ado 3. G. Muhammad, OON was attended by policy makers from the NPHCDA, SPHCDAs/SPHCBs, SMoH, Development Partners and other key stakeholders in the public and private sectors.

THE MEETING OBJECTIVES WERE:

• To update state health policymakers on the work of the NPHCDA and National Essential Medicines Coordinating Mechanism (NEMCM) at the national level and State Essential Medicines Coordinating Mechanisms (SEMCMs) at the state-level.

• To engage all 36 States and FCT to commit their state governments to procure essential childhood medicines and other life-saving commodities for all public health facilities.

• To mobilize the support of key stakeholders in both public and private sectors to support the delivery of primary and community-based health services.

• To sensitize States on the current efforts at revitalizing Primary Health Care (PHC) and accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through PHC.

AFTER EXTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS BY THE PARTICIPANTS ON THE PRESENTATIONS THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE:

1. That childhood pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea' diseases are the leading killers of children under the age of 5 years. Together they account for over 50% of the country's under-five mortality.

2. That the avoidable deaths of about 33,000 women annually can be averted through the use of maternal health interventions.

3. That' essential childhood medicines and commodities such as amoxicillin dispersible tablet, zinc dispersible tablet and low osmolarity - oral rehydration salt (Zinc DT/LO-ORS), artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs), rapid diagnostic test kits, 4% chlorhexidine gel (25g tube) should be used for the management of common diseases that contribute to childhood mortality.

4. That despite the increase in knowledge and efficacy of these essential medicines for the treatment of childhood diseases their utilization in the public and private health facilities remains low.

5. That the training and re-training of public and private health workers is important for improving access to essential childhood medicines and quality of care. .

6. That there is a need to strengthen the referral system and develop a simplified childhood killer diseases identification procedure and treatment guidelines in Nigeria.

7. That there is a need for effective collaboration between the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and National Association of Patent & Proprietary Medicines Dealers (NAPPMED) to ensure compliance in the dispensing of Over The Counter (OTC) medicines by Patent & Proprietary Medicines Vendors (PPMVs) who serve the community level where there is a higher disease burden.

8. That local manufacturing of essential childhood medicines is fraught with several challenges in spite of its numerous benefits.

9. That there has been insufficient involvement of State Primary Health Care Boards (SPHCBs) in decisions concerning primary heaitn care activities in tneir

10. That some states have not established their state primary health care board.

BASED ON THE ABOVE OBSERVATIONS THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS WERE MADE:

1. That it is essential for states to have budget lines in their Annual Operational Plans and procure essential childhood medicines from indigenous manufacturers, where available, through adequate quantification and forecasting.

2. That Amoxicillin Dispersible Tablet (DT) should be adopted & listed as the first line treatment at all levels of PHC (Primary Health Centre, Primary Health Clinic and Health Post) for childhood pneumonia in all policy documents (National Standard Treatment Guidelines (NSTG), National Essential Medicines List (NEML) and National Standing Orders for Community Health Practitioners). This will be achieved by the various stakeholders under the leadership of the FMoH harmonizing the different policies, regulations, guidelines and classifications to adopt and list Amoxicillin DT as the first line treatment.

3. That the scaling-up of integrated Childhood Case Management (ICCM) and Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) across the country and the task shifting and task sharing policy approved by the 58th National Council on Health (Sokoto) should be implemented by all stakeholders.

4. That the Federal Government should ensure that Zinc Dispersible Tablet and Low Osmolarity - Oral Rehydration Salt are co-packed to encourage compliance with recommended treatment guidelines, improve therapeutic outcome and make the commodities more affordable.

5. That the health care referral system should be strengthened and appropriate supervision, monitoring and evaluation be established for the implementation of the guidelines recommending Amoxicillin Dispersible Tablet (Amoxicillin DT) and Zinc DT/ Low Osmolarity-Oral Rehydration Salt (Zinc DT/LO-ORS) as first-line treatment for childhood pneumonia and diarrheal diseases.

6. That Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and National Association of Patent & Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) should collaborate in the regulation of PPMVs activities.

7. That Government at all levels should create an enabling environment for local manufacture of essential childhood medicines and improve on last mile distribution.

8. That in the collaboration effort of federal and state governments towards PHC revitalization and universal health coverage, states should play more meaningful roles than in the past if sustainable results are to be achieved.

9. That states which have not established SPHCB should, as a matter of urgency, do so in line with the decisions of the National Council on Health in order to streamline and strengthen PHC governance and ensure quality service delivery.

APPRECIATION

The participants at the National Stakeholders Meeting on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) Project in Nigeria appreciated the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for the successful conduct of the two-day meeting which gave all stakeholders from national and state levels and public and private sectors the opportunity to interact on ways to move the implementation of the RMNCH Project in particular and Primary Health Care (PHC) system in general forward in Nigeria towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all Nigerians.

Signed:

Dr. Emmanuel Odu Ag. Executive Director/CEO NPHCDA Abuja

Dr. Aliya Shehu Yabagi Executive Director Niger SPHCDA

Dr. Chukwuemeka Oluoha Executive Secretary Abia SPHCDA

ABUJA: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED PORTHARCOURT: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED LAGOS: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED

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