FG LAUNCHES COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMME TO CURTAIL ALARMING INFANT, MATERNAL MORTALITY

Community-Based Health Research Innovative Training and Services Programme (CRISP) aimed at raising human resources to curtail the alarming rate of infant and maternal mortality was today launched in Abuja by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, (NPHCDA) in collaboration with Residency Training Institutions.

With the theme “optimizing PHC human resource for health: key to re-imaging primary health care” the event had the presence of  traditional and faith based leaders, development partners and presentations by senior practitioners in public health and community medicine.

The Chief  Executive Officer NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib explained that the aim of CRISP is to drastically reduce infant and maternal mortality in the country by increasing the number of quality health care workers in PHC facilities across the country.

He said that skilled workers would be encouraged to stay in the rural communities and health workers to be trained would be from the communities where the PHC’s are situated.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said that CRISP will make working in the rural areas attractive for health workers with provision of modern amenities including electricity, water and housing estates to avoid the present situation where they move enmass to urban centers.

Represented by the minister of women affairs Mrs Pauline Tallen, he pointed out that the level of developmentof a country and the sophistication of its equipment can amount to nothing without the required skilled health workers.