Health
Janet Ekpenyong, Director-General, Cross River Primary Healthcare Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), has appealed for effective coordination among partners to enhance the state’s AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Control Programme (SASCP).
Ekpenyong made the appeal during a health sector review meeting with partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Calabar.
Admonishing the partners, the DG said the meeting was important to help them ascertain whether they were making progress in the fight against HIV and STI.
He said the meeting would also enable them to know if there were other aspects of the programme that should be rejigged, removed or added.
“I want to appeal to SASCP to see how we can strengthen our coordination of HIV response because one way or the other, we are beginning to identify all the gaps that we have.
“We at the CRSPHCDA also have some concerns like the issue of partners concentrating their interventions on a particular health facility.
”I hope that after this meeting, we will be able to see how interventions are taken to other areas that need help rather than focusing on a particular area.
“The CRSPHCDA will continue to provide a conducive environment; we hope to always have that collaboration so that at the end of the day, we can improve HIV response in the state,” she said.
In his remark, Dr Asuquo Etuk said the review meeting was for all the partners to see how well they responded in accordance to the plans they set at the beginning of the year.
Etuk represented Excellent Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS).
He highlighted some of the challenges involved in HIV response in the state to include poor structures, finance, infrastructure and coordination.
“We the implementing partners – government and non government facilities – need to coordinate ourselves to achieve more in the remaining six months of 2020.
“We may not have carried out much of our plans in the last two quarters. It means that in the next two quarters, we will have loads of activities. So, for us to achieve, we have to work together,” he said.
Etuk added that all partners in the HIV response should support SASCP to enable it to carry out its coordinating role.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other partners involved in the review meeting included FHI 360, AHF, Heartland Alliance and Ascopany, among others. (NAN)
– Jul. 8, 2020 @ 13:09 GMT |
Tags: DG appeals for effective coordination to enhance C ‘River AIDS STIs programme
