Health stakeholders in Ebonyi State have pledged their commitment to sustaining the achievements recorded from the USAID Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria’s supported health activities in the state.
The stakeholders made the vow during the closeout ceremony of the organisation’s health support project in the state.
The event, held on Tuesday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, was organised by Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health.
It was a moment of demonstration of value and impact of social and behaviour change and other related development outcomes from the organisation’s support to the state.
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The event brought together government officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations, the media and other partners who took turns in sharing experiences, highlighting some of the visible progress recorded in the supported activities across the various communities in the state.
The wife of the Ebonyi State Governor and Special Guest at the event, Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru, commended the organisation for engineering positive health behaviour in the state and raising partners who would continue to advance the projects in the state.
Nwifuru, represented by the wife of the Chief of Staff, Nkechi Emma Echiegu, assured of government’s preparedness to drive the sustainability of the project activities beyond the support of Breakthrough ACTION in the state.
Echiegu stated: “All you have done; all the people you have trained, you trained for us.
“You have done us a favour with all you have done since you came in, and it is for our use today and years to come.
“Believe you me, we are going to key into it with our whole self, our whole energy.
“You have just prepared the ground for us to work, and I assure you that in Ebonyi State, although this is a closeout event.
“It is an opening up of a whole new chapter.”
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, while appraising the contributions of BA-N in the state’s health sector, said the event marked a significant milestone in the stakeholders’ collective journey towards enhancing social and behaviour change in healthcare in the state.
Ekuma noted that through the engagements of BA-N the state has witnessed tremendous achievements that have profoundly impacted the landscape of maternal, newborn and child health, coupled with nutrition services.
He enumerated some of the tangible impacts of the project to include engagement and empowerment of various community structures across the state; enhancing Community social and behaviour change, instituting community capacity strengthening, provider behaviour change initiative, women empowerment group, Social and Behaviour Change Advocacy Core Group.
He emphasised that the results of the collective efforts of the state and USAID BA-N were evident in the recorded significant increase in services uptake within health facilities across the state, accompanied by a notable increase in knowledge regarding priority health behaviours; improved provider-client relationship and improved service delivery standards, among others.
Ekuma added: “One of the key achievements that we celebrate today is the realignment and revitalisation of the ward Development Committees in accordance with national guidelines, equipped with enhanced capacity.
“Today, the WDCs play a pivotal role in facilitating community recognition and response to health issues; advocating for quality health services, mobilising resources and addressing underlying social and cultural barriers including gender-based biases and norms.”
While further appreciating the USAID Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria for their wonderful roles in Ebonyi State, the state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Chinwe Okah, pledged to ensure its sustainability through adequate provision for the promoted health activities in the state’s budget.
In their separate messages, the Project Director, Breakthrough ACTION, Ian Tweedie, and the Senior Deputy Project Director, Family Planning and Integrated Social and Behaviour Change, Dr. Shittu Abdul-Aguye, congratulated the state for the achievements so far.
Abdul-Aguye explained that BA-N was an USAID flagship project dedicated to fostering positive health behaviour in critical areas such as malaria, maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition as well as family planning, reproductive health, tuberculosis as well as some zoonotic diseases, including Lassa fever and Monkeypox, adding that since its inception in 2018, the organisation has been instrumental in driving tangible progress within communities in Nigeria.
While congratulating the state, Tweedie urged the actors to put into action their commitments moving forward, in ensuring that SBC grows from strength to strength for the health of the state and the nation.
Tweedie stressed: “We are coming to the end of Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria, but this is not the end of social and behaviour change in Nigeria.”
The Acting State Coordinator, BA-N, Rabiat Hassan-Ahmed, in an opening remark stated that the essence of the event was to showcase what the project has accomplished in Ebonyi State and review the state preparedness for its sustainability.
In a goodwill message, the USAID-Nigeria Health Officer-Foreign Services, Melissa Freeman, expressed pride on the success stories emanating from the collaboration with the state through Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria.
Freeman appreciated all the stakeholders in the state for offering USAID the needed cooperation, and expressed the continued willingness of USAID to partner the state in other diverse areas of needs.
Goodwill messages were also received from other partners including USAID-Integrated Health Programme and World Health Organisation.
The event also featured award and certificate presentations to deserving individual and corporate partners.
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