NSPHCDA ENGAGES 764 CHIPS AGENTS ACCROSS 9 LGAs IN NIGER STATE FOR PHASE ONE IMPLEMENTATION.

The health of Nigeria remains very poor. The maternal and child health mortality rates in Nigeria are among the worst in the world. One of the major reasons for the poor health status is poor coverage with high impact interventions. 

The use of community health workers has been identified as one strategy to expand access to health care services, especially in underserved rural areas. Using community members to render certain basic health care services to the communities they come from is a concept that has been around for at least 50 years.

In Nigeria, community-based health care services are being provided by various categories of health care providers for several programmes, and under the auspices of different organizations. For example, there are community Oriented Resource Persons (CORPS) providing community integrated case Management of child Illness (iCCM) services, Voluntary Community Moilizers (VCM) involved in mobilization for polio, Village Health Workers (VHWs), prevention of mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) motivators, Ward Health Development Committees (WHDCs). etc.

The multiplicity of service providers, differential incentives, overlapping functions and verticalization of programmes have resulted in fragmentation of services and

inefficiencies. To address these gaps, the National Primary Health Care Development

Agency (NPHCDA) is providing leadership in harmonizing all community-based health workers under the umbrella of 

Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) Programme and the Agents are expected to provide integrated services at community level.

Upon selection and training of CHIPS agents, purchased of commodities and production of Data tools, the state is fully ready for role out.              

It is against this backdrop, that the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency deemed it fit to organise nine (9)  days refresher training across nine (9) Local Government Areas for phase one implementation. This is to equip the community based health workers that were brought together under the umbrella of CHIPS to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills that will bridge the gap of health care service delivery in their  communities. 

The nine (9) LGAs where the ongoing refresher training is taking place are: Agaie, Borgu, Gurara, Lapai, Mariga, Mashegu, Mokwa, Paikoro, and Rafi.

While, the CHIPS components or services are:

1. Demand generation

Management of minior illments such as: 

2. Diarrhea

3. Malaria

4. Immunization

5. Nutrition

6. ANC/Post natal

7. Family Planing

8. Pneumonia

9. Refferal and

10. Covid-19.               

At the end of the training, the CEFPs, SCHEWS, OICs and WFPs are expected to retrain  the CHIPS agents in thier various clusters in order, to move at the same pace towards bridging the gap of poor health service delivery across their respective communities in Niger state.        The nine (9) days training that began on Monday 25th January, 2021 is expected to end on Tuesday 2nd February, 2021.  

  

IBRAHIM AHMAD ZURUK 

SMO/PRO, NSPHCDA