By Enyinna Omoke, Abakaliki
In a strategic plan to ensure integration of sexual, reproductive health across Ebonyi State,
a civil society organisation, popularly known as Daughters of Virtue Empowerment Initiative (DOVENET) has commenced advocacy for the integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and communicable diseases services for adolescents and young people in primary health facilities in Ebonyi communities.
In a media parley held Friday March 20, in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, the organisation observed that the persistent gaps in service delivery at the PHCs levels, including fragmented care, weak referral systems, stigma and discrimination, poor service integration, limited youth-friendly services, and weak community–facility linkages, among others, have continued to negatively affect adolescents, young people, women, and the vulnerable population’s unmitigated access to comprehensive care, including reproductive health services.
Addressing journalists at the event, DOVENET’s Executive Director, Mrs Ugo Nnachi, represented by the organisation’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Peter Ewa, explained that the organisation, in partnership with Jhpiego, is working on a project to strengthen access to inclusive, youth-friendly, and integrated primary health care services in Ebonyi State.
According to Ewa, the project tagged: “Advancing Integrated Health Services Including Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Communicable Diseases (CD) Intervention, is aimed at closing the gaps and ensuring improved, equitable access to integrated, people-centred, youth-friendly SRHR and communicable disease services at community and PHC levels through strengthened systems, partnerships, and service through non-discriminatory delivery models.
He advocated an integrated service delivery model in PHCs which combines family planning, maternal health, adolescent SRHR, Gender-Based violence prevention/response, cervical cancer awareness, postpartum male engagement with communicable diseases such as malaria, HIV, TB, STIs and viral hepatitis.
He added that strengthening health systems through community-facility linkages, improved referral systems, data quality improvement, supportive supervision, community case management, demand creation, and facility mentoring would also enhance service delivery.
“This integrated approach ensures that clients receive comprehensive, coordinated, and dignified care across services, rather than fragmented interventions, while promoting sustainability through local ownership”, he emphasized.
