Moved by the gains inherent in the family planning and primary  healthcare services interventionist project, IntegratE, Enugu state government and key health sector partners on Wednesday commited to  the sustenance of  the gains to develop it’s health systems.

The IntegratE Project;  a five-year family planning initiative expanded access to reproductive health services through Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) within the state.

Speaking during the dissemination of the Enugu State Private Sector Family Planning performance under the IntegratE Project, which ran from Oct. 2021 to July 2026, State Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said the project had significantly improved reproductive health services and positive outcomes for women  over the past five years in Enugu state.

He assured that the government  would continue to expand access to healthcare, stressing that family planning was  sensitive but essential for the betterment of  the society.

He stated that the Governor Peter Mbah’s administration was committed to strengthening primary healthcare outcomes in all ramifications.

Ugwu added that more than 100 new primary healthcare centres would become operational before the end of the year, stressing that the state government’s commitment to innovation would continue to position the state as a leader in modern healthcare delivery.

Speaking, the representative of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Mrs Ifeyinwa Ohiaeri, described the project as a major intervention that strengthened family planning services through pharmacy practice.

Ohiaeri stressed that “family planning remains critical” to reproductive, maternal and adolescent health.

She said that the dissemination provided an opportunity to review achievements, challenges and strategies for sustaining the project’s impact, while reaffirming its commitment to professional ethics and quality service delivery.

The representative of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Mrs Maureen Nwankwo, said the agency would sustain the gains achieved.

Nwankwo noted that the programme had helped reduce unintended pregnancies, maternal and child deaths through improved access to family planning services.

Group Director of the Donor-Funded Programmes at the Society for Family Health, Pharm. Emeka Okafor, said the national project tested the pharmacy-led delivery model for family planning in Enugu State.

Okafor noted that while about 70 per cent of residents patronise private health providers, much of the state’s routine health data comes only from the public sector, leaving a significant gap.

He said that according to the project’s implementation report, 29,262 women accessed family planning services through trained PPMVs in Enugu State, while 14,541 referrals were made to public health facilities.

He said that the project also exceeded training targets, introduced digital supportive supervision and contributed to the institutionalisation of the Tiered Accreditation System for PPMVs.

Okafor pointed out that to sustain the gains of the project, there was need for the government to institutionalise the supervisory systems;  strengthen PPMV registration and regulation, allocate dedicated resources for  integrated supportive supervisions, adding that all partners must domesticate the Task-Shifting and Task-Sharing policy and formalise CP/PPMV reporting into NHMIS.