By Rebecca Maina
Stakeholders in Gombe State have commended Jhpiego for its contribution to strengthening community healthcare services through capacity building and quality improvement interventions aimed at improving primary healthcare delivery.
The commendation was made during the Quality Improvement Leadership and Management Project “Pause and Reflect” Meeting, organized by Jhpiego funded by Global Fund.
The meeting, held at Mawatto Hotel in Kaltungo, brought together health workers and stakeholders from Billiri, Kaltungo, and Shongom Local Government Areas to review achievements, assess challenges, and develop strategies for sustaining quality healthcare services.
Addressing participants, the Director of Public Health at the Gombe State Ministry of Health and Jhpiego Project Supervisor in Gombe State, Dr. David Karatu, said the meeting was designed to evaluate progress made under the project and identify practical solutions to improve healthcare delivery.
“This ‘Pause and Reflect’ meeting provides us with the opportunity to review our achievements, identify existing gaps, and develop practical solutions that will strengthen the delivery of quality primary healthcare services across our communities,” he said.
Dr. Karatu reaffirmed the commitment of the Gombe State Government to improving healthcare services through collaboration with development partners.
“The Gombe State Government remains committed to improving the quality of healthcare services through strong collaboration with development partners and by strengthening our health systems,” he added.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of Billiri Local Government Area, Mrs. Egla Idris, the Chairman of Billiri West LCDA, Mr. Yila Maidawa, the Chairman of Shongom Local Government Area, Mr. Modi Shell Pidi, and the representative of Kaltungo Local Government, Mr. Enoch Wakili, applauded Jhpiego for enhancing the capacity of community health workers, noting that the intervention has improved healthcare service delivery in their respective areas.
“Jhpiego’s intervention has strengthened the capacity of our community health workers and improved healthcare service delivery. We appreciate this partnership and look forward to sustaining the gains,” Mrs. Idris said.
In separate goodwill messages, the Wamban Tangale, Alhaji Yau Waziri, the Magajin Garin Kaltungo, Alhaji Adamu Ibrahim, and the District Head of Shongom pledged their continued support for initiatives aimed at improving primary healthcare services across the state.
Presenting achievements recorded since the project’s inception, the PHC Coordinators for Billiri and Shongom LGAs, Mrs. Patricia Lewi Tuduk and Mrs. Ruth Ali alongside the Quality Improvement Focal Person for Kaltungo LGA, Mrs. Nanatu Naftali, highlighted significant progress.
According to them, the project has facilitated the adoption of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methodology, strengthened peer-to-peer support systems, improved the availability of testing kits, increased antenatal care attendance, enhanced staff commitment, reduced preventable deaths in participating health facilities, and integrated quality improvement approaches into routine healthcare service delivery.
“The adoption of the Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology has transformed the way our facilities identify problems and implement solutions, resulting in better quality care for our patients,” Mrs. Patricia Lewi Tuduk said.
Mrs. Nanatu Naftali added that although the project has recorded remarkable successes, inadequate funding, logistics challenges, and difficult terrain continue to hinder implementation.
“We have recorded improvements in antenatal care attendance, staff commitment, the availability of testing kits, and a reduction in preventable deaths. These are encouraging outcomes, but more support is needed to address funding and logistics challenges,” she stated.
Providing an overview of the intervention, the Senior Quality Improvement Coordinator for Jhpiego in Gombe State, Mrs. Rifkatu Anthony, explained that the organisation has operated in Nigeria for more than five decades.
She said Jhpiego initially focused on maternal and newborn health but has expanded its interventions to include nutrition, healthy ageing, and the prevention and response to gender-based violence.
“The encouraging aspect of this project is that the Gombe State Government and the local government councils have taken ownership, allowing quality improvement initiatives to expand to more than 200 health facilities across the state,” she said.
Mrs. Anthony stated that quality improvement initiatives have now been extended to health facilities in all 11 local government areas of Gombe State through continuous capacity building and the integration of quality improvement into the curricula of tertiary institutions.
She commended the strong collaboration between the State Ministry of Health, local government councils, PHC coordinators, frontline health workers, and development partners, expressing optimism that the partnership would continue to strengthen primary healthcare services and improve health outcomes for residents across the state.