Director Tasks Health Officers On Diligence

A director of Public
Healthcare Management Board, Dr Isaac Opurum has challenged health workers to be diligent on their duties for improved healthcare services to the people.
Dr Opurum said this in Port Harcourt at a training workshop for Chief Orientation Mobilisation Officers (COMOS) and social mobilisation officers in preparation for 2013 Integrated Measles Campaign billed to commence November 2, 2013.
The director who expressed dissatisfaction over past immunisation programmes said it was not as successful as expected.
According to him, “there were improper planning and lots of gap in the dissemination of information to the grassroots,” noting that the community people were not adequately carried along in the exercises.
He emphasized that communities ownership of programmes and their active participation were vital for the success of immunisation and other public health programmes in the state.
Opurum explained that if the community people were properly involved, they could monitor the regularity and punctuality  of health workers in the programme noting that such participation would go a long way in fostering cordial relationship between the people and the government and by implication improve such programmes.
The director who further disclosed that polio was still prevalent in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan expressed strong determination of Nigeria to eradicate polio and advised that Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases should be reported to the local government area.
He also advised that resistant measles in some parts of the state should be attended to saying that through increased dosage of vaccines the disease would be effectively combated, urging that all cases of Adverse Effect Following Immunisation (AEFI) should be sent to the nearest health facility to assist patients to recover.
The director clarified that IMC is a health facility and fixed post based and not house to house even though schools, churches and mosques would be covered.
He reminded the SMOs and COMOS that UNICEF would come to monitor the programme stating that the situation calls for proper synergy to achieve success.

Tonye Nria-Dappa and Chris Oluoh