European Union/WHO Partnership with Anambra Health Ministry

Ebele Egoh/Chukwudi Nwauba

European Union/World Health Organisation (EU/WHO) will continue to collaborate to strengthen Anambra Health System. ``This is a welcome idea and gateway to strong healthcare system,’’ Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Okpala said this while declaring open a 4-Day Training/Development of State Strategic Health Development Plan (SSHDP) 11 2020 Annual Operational Plan (AOP) at Cichotel Classic Hotel, Awka.

Dr Okpala applauded the EU/WHO Health System Strengthening Project for supporting the ministry of health to organise the 4-day residential training as a way to re-strengthening the state healthcare system.

``We approach them to help us to fund this training/development of AOP and that is why we are here today because they accepted to fund it.

``The state has a 5-year strategic plan which can only be implemented through the development of AOP.

``This is not just a plan; every activity of the ministry is being captured here, and cost for onward implementation.

``I encourage every participant to focus on the things we need to do to enable us to have great implementation plan that will help us to have robust health system in 2020,’’ Dr Okpala said.

The commissioner noted that the plan would enable the state to have a foundation that would be used to deliver positive outcomes in job delivery.

He said that if one failed to plan, he or she had planned to fail.

Head, Planning Research and Statistics, Mrs Edith Nwachukwu, said that the objective of the training was to build the skills of state health officers to develop the plan for 2020.

``We are here with the support from EU/WHO in Health System Strengthening Project to develop AOP from the State Strategic Healthcare Development Plan (SSHDP) 11, as mandated by Federal Ministry of Health.

``AOP will enable us to know what we will be doing in the upcoming year and when it is fully implemented will help us to achieve more.

``This is the first organised plan developed from SSHDP 11 since 2018 that will run from 2020 that the state is producing.

``For this plan to be fully implemented, prompt release of fund is a must for us to actualise all that we have in that plan,’’ Mrs Nwachukwu said.

EU/WHO Programme Officer Health System Strengthening Project in the state, Mr Ndubuisi Oji, described the relationship between the EU/WHO and the state as cordial.

``The relationship between EU/WHO and Anambra State is very cordial and part of our mandate is to strengthen health system in the state.

``We are doing this exercise with the support from EU to help to harmonise activities and to ensure that the state has a plan for health interventions.

``The AOP is a working document on ground that partners will key into and implement what the state needs most, which is indicated in that plan.

``Without a plan, states cannot make any progress and it will be difficult for them to know their priorities.

``At the end, the plan is going to explain what is happening and what has happened, it's going to measure performance overtime,’’ Mr Oji noted.

One of the facilitators from Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Gabriel Ikechukwu took time to explain to the participants how to perform some activities.

He also taught them the importance of conducting situation analysis, which he noted was the starting point in any planning process.

``We need to be aware of what we are planning for, such as issues needed to be addressed and on how we intend to address them.

``Situation Analysis must be in the locality we are planning for, it requires us to look at the past, present and future,’’ Mr Ikechukwu said.

Exercises, group works, questions and answers would form part of the 4-day training/development of 2020 State Operational Plan.

Participants in the training include permanent secretaries, staff of Ministry of Health and those of Economic Planning, hospital administrators, executive secretaries of ASPHCDA and ASHIA, directors and focal persons.