In a move geared towards rejigging the body for more optimized service delivery and strident advocacy on issues related to healthcare in Nigeria, the National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria (NACHPN) held its election where a new executive emerged. The new executive will, in the next two years, steer the ship of the association towards a greater and more profound engagement trajectory with relevant stakeholders in the public and private sector to bolster more adequate responses that would shore up better health care service delivery across the across.

One of the new executives is the newly inaugurated National Secretary of the association, Reverend Canon Nengi Brown, who is also the Vicar-in-Charge of St. Michael’s Christ Army Church (CAC), Abonnema, and Dean, School of Community Health and Chairman, Committee of Deans at the Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology (RIVCOHSTECH).

In this online interview with the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Kristina Reports, Godswill Jumbo, he throws light on what his association will be doing in the days coming to improve healthcare services delivery across Nigeria, and repositioning of the association to make better contributions to the development of health initiatives and how it hopes to engage the government at al levels. Enjoy the read!

Kristina Reports: As the National Secretary of the National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria (NACHPN), can you give some insights into what the association is all about?

Brown Nengi: My association is populated by specially trained health practitioners or professionals that are into the provision of promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services. Majority of our workforce are within the local government areas rendering various services in the health centers and private sectors.

In the light of current health challenges facing the country, Covid-19 inclusive, what interventions are the Community Health practitioners making to support public and private sector efforts at combating them?

We will do our best by ensuring that we carry out public health campaigns through Mass Media, on electronic, print and virtual media, on the dangers associated with COVID-19. We will also be organizing lectures, workshops, and other capacity building programmes for community health practitioners (CHPs) and carry out mass production of leaflets and flyers on enlightenment to various institutions, communities, workplaces and homes.

Against the backdrop of lack of funding facing healthcare delivery in Nigeria, is there an advocacy plan to get the government to do more in this direction?

We will pay advocacy visits to various policy makers continually to remind and urge them to approve what is due to our workforce and also understand that health is wealth.

Another big issue is the lack of interest by healthcare professionals to go work in the rural areas. Are you considering ways to have the policy makers to incentivise this area so that health care delivery can be brought closer to the grassroots?

Yeah, it is true but we’ll try our best in dialogue with workers and policy makers to ensure that our wages are promptly paid and those on essential duties are rewarded with their salaries as at when due. Also those on 24 hour services should be paid, provided with accommodation and other amenities.

One critical downside to health care delivery in Nigeria is maternal and child mortality, what is your new leadership considering to help stem this challenge?

Capacity building of our members, updating CHP with relevant training and curriculum development, utilization of task shifting and task sharing policy that was approved by the Federal Ministry of Health. These are areas we will focus on to ensure they are done to help improve the capacity of CHPs to properly manage these issues and stem the challenges.