By Sylvia Akpan
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The Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, CRSPHCDA, has commenced a training-the-trainer program for focal persons in the Community Health Influencers and Promoters Services , CHIPS program in five pilot Local Government Areas, LGAs.
CHIPS is an initiative of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA aimed at tackling the menace of faith based organizations by promoting access to health facilities. It will see the engagement of 10 people per political wards in the 774 LGAs in the country.
And, in Cross River, the Director General of the CRSPHCDA, Dr. Janet Ekpenyong said Abi, Boki, Obudu, Odukpani and Yala LGAs are currently the pilot areas of focus as the engagement of engage 60 Nurses and Midwives to achieve other thematic ares of the program is ongoing.
“Volunteers undergoing this training will help influence community members on health facilities usage as well as build trust in the health sector and village health concept in remote communities.” Ekpenyong said at an event to declare the training open.
Cross River is the first State to commence implementation of CHIPS. And, the state state coordinator of the NPHCDA, Mr. Julius Idoko hailed the “deliberate endeavors to take health services to the grassroots,” which according to him, is the cardinal point of operation in attaining universal health coverage.
Furthermore, the CHIPS focal person, Mrs. Lucy Okeh reiterated the need for health influencers to promote the relationship between members of the community and health facilities in the face of various disease outbreaks in the country.
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