April 18, (THEWILL) – The Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria Network (ATM), in Cross River State, has warned communities against Vandalising public health Institutions.
In the alternative, communities have been advised to take ownership of these facilities as they do not belong exclusively to the government.
Pastor Effiong Udobong, the state coordinator of ATM, disclosed this in Calabar when his group paid a courtesy visit to Cross River State Malaria Elimination Officer, Goodwill Efa.
He made reference to the Endsars protests in the state where a number of public health facilities were either completely destroyed or partially vandalized, an action which ultimately deprived communities of access to care.
Some of the notable health facilities in the state which were destroyed include the Infectious Diseases Hospital and the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
Speaking on the need to guard public health facilities, Pastor Udobong said, “we hope to get community members together so they can know that these facilities like Primary Healthcare Centres in their community is not just owned by the government but the community.
“Most times, communities do not bother about these facilities and in some cases vandalise and steal from them.
“ENDSARS is a case in point. People destroyed the facilities and at the end of the day, their children had no access to healthcare.
“The ATM hopes to open the eyes of our people to see that these facilities belong to them and not just the government alone”, he said.
He said the Primary Health Centres are an integral part of what the ATM is doing in the state and they currently operate in five LGAs.
He added that they have been engaging with these communities in a focus group discussion on the proper use of health facilities.
In his response, Dr Godswill Efa, the State Malaria Elimination Officer and his management team pledged to give the ATM all the support they need to succeed in the state.
He solicited greater partnership with the ATM Network in the area of periodic reports on Malaria so that they can appreciate the expectations and synergize to eliminate Malaria in the state.
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
