The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Fund have called for stronger collaboration with community leaders to safeguard health facilities and ensure the sustainability of healthcare interventions, noting that community ownership and protection of public health infrastructure are critical to effective healthcare delivery.

UNICEF Deputy Representative in Nigeria, Charles Lufumpa, made the call on Thursday during an inspection of the rehabilitation work at Onunweke Primary Health Centre in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The facility is among 150 primary healthcare centres being upgraded nationwide by UNICEF with support from the Global Fund.

Lufumpa reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to strengthening primary healthcare services in Ebonyi State, noting that the rehabilitation project would significantly improve access to quality healthcare for women, children, and other residents of the community.

He commended the Ebonyi State Government and community leaders for supporting the initiative and urged the contractor and consulting engineers to ensure quality delivery.

“Our role is to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure. I appeal to the contractor and engineer to do a very clean and quality job that this community will be proud of. We want this facility to remain in excellent condition even years after it is handed over,” he said.

Lufumpa stressed the importance of protecting the facility and its equipment from vandalism, adding that the project is designed to improve access to quality healthcare services for women, children, and other members of the community.

He also encouraged community leaders to mobilise residents to make use of the facility once completed, particularly for immunisation, maternal healthcare, and treatment of common ailments.

Also speaking, UNICEF Chief of Field Operations and Emergency, Judith Leveillee, said the rehabilitation project was aimed at restoring quality healthcare services to the community.

She disclosed that the health centre would be equipped with solar power, potable water supply, and improved sanitation facilities to enhance healthcare delivery.

“We met with the contractor, engineers, health workers, and community leaders. Our hope is that the rehabilitation will be completed quickly so that services can be fully restored.

“This facility will provide quality healthcare to women, children, and families in the community,” she said.
Leveillee expressed confidence in the partnership between UNICEF, the Global Fund, and the Ebonyi State Government, assuring residents that the project would significantly improve healthcare outcomes in the area.

She thanked Governor Francis Nwifuru, the State Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders for their support towards the successful implementation of the initiative.

The Executive Secretary of the Ebonyi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Ovuta Chukwuemeka, described the project as a major intervention facilitated by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency through the Global Fund and implemented by UNICEF.

He commended UNICEF for its commitment to quality and timely project delivery, noting that only four primary healthcare centres in Ebonyi State were selected for the revitalisation programme.

“The community is fortunate to benefit from this project. UNICEF is known for maintaining high standards, and we are confident that the people here will receive the best healthcare services when the project is completed,” he said.

Chukwuemeka disclosed that the agency would convey the community’s requests for perimeter fencing and improved security to the state government while also working with residents to ensure proper maintenance of the facility.
Responding to concerns over the shortage of medical personnel, particularly doctors, he acknowledged the challenge posed by the migration of healthcare workers but assured residents that efforts were ongoing to deploy more healthcare professionals, especially doctors from the area, to the facility.

Speaking on behalf of residents, the Women Leader of the Ward Development Committee (WDC), Mrs. Uhuo Celine, lamented the shortage of healthcare workers, particularly doctors, at the centre.

According to her, the absence of doctors has contributed to avoidable deaths in the community and remains the most pressing challenge facing the facility.

She appealed to the Ebonyi State Government to deploy medical doctors to the health centre and increase the number of nurses serving the area.

The Community Leader, Chief Friday Ogbe, assured UNICEF and its partners that residents would adequately protect and maintain the facility and its equipment upon completion.

The rehabilitation project is expected to improve access to quality healthcare services, reduce maternal and infant mortality, and strengthen primary healthcare delivery in the benefiting community.