BY VICTOR NWEGEDE
At least, 575 communities in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have benefited from the substantial investment by the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego) and 'Unitaid' in the state through the Transforming Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Optimal Pregnancy (TIPTOP) project.
The Commissioner for Health in Ebonyi, Dr Daniel Akuma Umezurike disclosed this in a one-day media chat on the TIPTOP Project in Geneza Hotel, Onwe Road, Abakaliki, the State Capital.
Dr Umezurike disclosed that "in the last 5 years, Jhpiego and Unitaid have made a very substantial investment of a little above $2.500,000 in Ebonyi State, particularly Ohaukwu Local Government Area through the Transforming Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Optimal Pregnancy(TIPTOP) project."
He explained TIPTOP as an innovative, community-based health approach that aims to dramatically increase the number of pregnant in the malaria-affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa receiving antimalarial treatment, thus, saving the lives of thousands of mothers and newborns.
The Commissioner also stated that it was "through the TIPTOP project and funds provided by the United, the state government in collaboration with the Jhpiego trained over 346 service providers including midwives, nurses and Community Health Extension Workers, CHEWs on the 2016 Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and World Health Organisation (WHO) Antenatal Care Model and 2012 Revised Intermittent Preventative Treatment for Optimal Pregnancy, IPTOP guidelines.
He said that the project trained " 462 volunteers otherwise known as Community Health Influencers, Promoters Service, CHIPS agents, providing stipends of five thousand five hundred Naira (N5,500) to each of them in the last five years.
He noted that as the project worked with the service providers and CHIPS agents, they were able to reach over 42,714 pregnant women with IPTp in 5 years across 575 communities in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the project procured some items which were donated to the communities.
According to him, "175,800 doses of SP procured, 152,800 donated, 23,000 does to be donated April 2022, 30 cartons of disposable, latex, powder, freehand gloves donated, 44 more to be donated, 9,404 packets of medical facemask donated and 2,120 packets to be donated in April 2022; 2,496 bottles of (500mls) Sanitol Hand Sanitizer donated and 1,332 to be donated April 2022, 260 (500mls) bottles of Sanitol Hand Wash donated, 756 more to be donated in April 2022 over 65,000 booklets of facility and community registers supplied.
"At the outbreak of COVID-19, we donated the Personal Preventive Equipment Items (PPEs) to support government's response to COVID-19, pandemic to guarantee at all levels."
Umezurike further announced that Nigeria has adopted and included community IPTp in the National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) 2021-2025 because of the successful implementation of the TITOP project for which Ebonyi State is part of the success story.
He added that the project equally supported the state to develop Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Adolescence Health (RMNCAH) and review the work plan for 2019-2021 results from a population survey conducted by an independent assessor, ISGlobal Barcelona Spain showed that: "In Ohaukwu LGA, Ebonyi State IPTp3 witnessed the highest increase estimated at 533 per cent as it rose in House Hold Survey (HHS) from the baseline to the end-line (11% vs 71.2%) and also higher than the TIPTOP target of 50%.
"While the Antenatal Care for the Fourth Visit (ANC4) coverage was also above 60% in all the LGAs except Bosso."
The proportion of the women that attended ANC4, in his words, increased from 67% at the baseline in Ohaukwu LGA to 78.4% at the end-line representing about an 11.3% percentage point change, adding that "this performance was achieved despite the communal crisis in Effium zone of the LGA that led to the closure of over 11 health facilities and displacement of the community people in the area."
The Commissioner expressed hope that the lessons learned from the TIPTOP project would be sustained and used for the improvement of the overall health system of the state today while continuing to strengthen the collaboration and relationship toward building a greater and brighter future for more work.
He further disclosed that, as the TIPTOP project closed out, Jhpiego worked with the stakeholders to develop a minimum package for the continuity of community IPTp."
He added that Jhpiego made additional donations of some items to support a smooth transition.
The additional donated items by Jhpiego according to him, were a six-month Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine stock to ensure there is no gap between transition and when the government will procure for the need of the facilities and communities, a six month stock of Health Management Information System, HMIS, and a four Runner Ranger Ford Vehicle to ensure last-mile delivery of commodities.
Others include additional CHIPS agents kits and a six month of COVID-19 PPEs to protect health workers, CHIPS agents and their families.
Earlier, the Program Director, Dr Bright Clement Orji, said the event was aimed at disseminating the findings and lessons from the TIPTOP project in Ebonyi, with the provision of the status of Malaria in Pregnancy (MIP) and to discuss the next steps on the project closeout, handover to the state and local governments ensuring accountability and commitment to ownership and sustainability.
