A Group , Innovation Hub for Inclusiveness, Empowerment and Social Development (SieDi-Hub) and Empower Next Generations (ENG), has collaborated with the Abia State Ministry of Health and the state’s Primary Healthcare Agency on a two-week project, where it trained 20 youths from Nkporo community in Ohafia Local Council of the state.
The project was aimed at bridging the gap between access and delivery of primary healthcare services. It was targeted at social, structural and knowledge determinants of health in the community.
According to one of the facilitators, Imo Chinasa, who is the founder of SieDi-Hub and Executive Director of the programme, the ‘’Community Health Youth Champions Programme (CHYCP) is an intervention and support project designed by the group to train the champions to conduct health education, house-to- house sensitisation, engage in periodic health outreaches, provide community health surveillance support, conduct basic health examinations and provide one-on-one psychosocial support to members of the community.’’
Chinasa said the project was motivated by a community health needs assessment baseline survey conducted by the partners, adding that the CHYCP training modules were designed to respond to the priority needs identified by the community members during the survey.
“The areas covered are water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); dieting, nutrition and lifestyle; cultivating good health-seeking behaviours; unhealthy practices that enhance health vulnerabilities; immunization and vaccination; diabetes awareness and management; hypertension (101) management; maternal and childcare; adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive health; care of the aged, global health and community health referral pathways, etc.
“This is to ensure that members of the communities have adequate information and attention to prioritize seeking healthcare in a timely manner.” She said the 20 champions, selected from Nkporo’s eight villages, were taken through rigorous didactic and pedagogical sessions that included group discussions, practical sections, group work, presentation, role-play, class reflections and experience sharing by the facilitators.
Other facilitators of the project were the Executive Director, Africa Focus for Youth Development, Emmanuel Gabari; Queen Chikwendu (Programme Manager, SieDi-Hub); Ezekiel Stephen (M&E Officer); Jonathan Ajuma (Community Engagement Coordinator); Mrs. Nnenna Obigwe (Officer-in-Charge of Nkporo Comprehensive Health Centre) and Mrs. Okey Ngozi Ogbu, a senior health educator from Abia State Primary Healthcare Development Centre.
Mrs. Imo, who is a global health policy strategist and international development professional, said the group adopted a human centred design thinking approach that taught the participants how to use cultural competence and humility to approach community health delivery.
She disclosed that the CHYCP is part of SieDi-Hub’s broader objectives of improving the quality of life for people living in rural communities through advancement in healthcare, sustainable livelihoods, empowerment, and socio-economic initiatives using approaches that are inclusive and innovative.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, the traditional ruler of the community, Eze (Dr.) Patrick Ogbuagu, the Ezeaja of Nkporo Community, admonished the newly inaugurated champions to discharge their duties diligently to achieve better health outcomes for every member of the community.
He thanked SieDi-Hub and ENG for their commitment and sacrifice to building the capacity of local young people to ensure that people have access to healthcare and prayed for the efforts to bear fruits in the community.
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