ACOMIN Calls More Vaccine Storage Facilities For Primary Healthcare Centres In Delta

By Magnus Emuji

The Delta State Government has been urged to provide more functional vaccine storage facilities for immunization items, such as freezers in the various Primary Healthcare Centres in the state, citing particularly healthcare facilities in Ughelli South Local Government Area.

 Civil Society Organization on Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN) made the call during an advocacy visit to the State Malaria Programme Manager in the State Ministry of Health, Dr.(Mrs ) Julie Aniah.

Speaking during the visit, the Delta State Chairman of ACOMIN, Pastor Gregory Sifo and the State Programme Officer of ACOMIN, Sir Austin Uwede, said that some of the health facilities in Ughelli South and other LGAs were in dire need of freezers .

Sifo and Uwede stressed the need for government and community leaders to evolve critical measures aimed at ensuring the sustainability of ACOMIN project, noting that there should be collective efforts to sanitize the healthcare system for effective service delivery.

They said that the shortage of storage facilities was affecting the health service delivery in the affected health centres.

Uwede explained that lack of functional vaccine storage facilities equally affects patronage, especially for the treatment of minor ailments, adding that government should do something about it so as to change the narrative.

The Non- governmental organization also visited the State Coordinator of the Logistics Management Coordinating Unit in Ministry of Health, Pharm.( Mrs) Stella Uduaghan where the ACOMIN chairman and the State Programme Officer of ACOMIN briefed the Coordinator of inadequate commodities observed in some primary healthcare facilities.

ACOMIN State Chairman said that when there are no medications available at the health centres, it would be impossible to achieve effective healthcare delivery, just as he strongly called on Healthcare service providers to have a change of attitude that was affecting healthcare delivery negatively.

Uwede told the Coordinator that basic medications should be made available in all the health facilities .

In her remark, the Coordinator, Logistics Management Coordinating Unit, Pharm.(Mrs.) Stella Uduaghan said that the state was running free health prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) under free mother health package, emphasizing that beneficiaries must be registered with the health insurance scheme to be able to access the services.

Uduaghan clarified that the Drug Revolving Fund was a centre pool for drugs that are supposed to service all the hospitals in the state, stating they health facilities are to registered with the Drug Revolving Fund through which healthcare centres make requisitions for drug and commodity supplies.