As Nigeria continues to record daily surge in the number of coronavirus, COVID-19 cases due to community transmission of the virus, the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency has expressed its readiness to tackle the spread of the virus across communities in the state.
The Executive secretary, Enugu State PHCDA, Dr.George Ugwu in an interview, said that with more than 50% of current COVID-19 cases no longer from people who travelled but as a result of community transmission, primary health care systems across the country have had to double their efforts at containing the spread.
He explained that in the bid to tackle the virus, the National PHCDA held several meetings and came up with what it termed response and preparedness to COVID-19 at the primary health care and community level.
According to him, the PHC back in the state, had to convene emergency board meetings because of the importance it places on the wellbeing of the people.
“When the deadly disease broke out, many states had the challenge of how to maintain our primary health care services. But here in Enugu, we decided that we shall not only continue with our health care delivery, but also improve on what we have been doing. Health is an exception in this instance” he said.
Ugwu noted that in line with directives by the national PHCDA, the state PHC have been making efforts to ensure that community transmission of the virus is controlled by first deepening and strengthening of risk communication and social mobilization, which involves giving out the correct information and dispelling rumours about the virus.
“In rural areas, people keep thinking it is a disease of the rich. But with our local platforms for social mobilization and health information sharing, we are able to keep the people informed on what to do in order not to contract the virus”. We intend to intensify it as time moves on” he said.
He explained that the agency, in this regard, has had to collaborate with traditional, religious leaders and other community leaders to ensure that the people at the grass roots are better informed about how to avoid getting the virus.
While noting that the PHC has been conducting training and orientation for workers in the state to ensure that they are better informed and have the needed skills to identify and put victims of the virus in a holding area, he said they are also being trained on the need to protect themselves while carrying out their duty
He further explained that efforts have also been made to ensure that PHC staff are spread across the border local governments with their thermometers to help them screen people who are coming in and going out of the state. “They provide us daily reports of whatever goes on in the field”
He maintained that the virus is not treated at the Primary Health Care level as the PHC only functions to identify and isolate and then link up patients to be taken to the Environment of Health Care, adding that the agency also uses its network of PHC workers down to the local government and to the wards to enhance contact tracing and surveillance in conjunction with the Nigerian Center for Disease Control, NCDC.
He further noted that the successes recorded so far would not have been possible if the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwunayi had not placed priority on the well being of the good people of the state.
“The Ugwuanyi-led government has also ignited the process of endless provision of face masks in the state. Now, all local governments in the state are mass producing face masks for use by the people” he explained.
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