By Hassan John
Experts in the health sector have advocated for more funding to manage disease and hygiene challenges in the country.
Speaking during the update on technical assistance provided by Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition 2 (HBCC2) in the last one year, the Director/Head, Health Promotion Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, insisted that adequate funding will sustain the programme.
She disclosed that the initiative which was kicked off in 2022 with six focal states had changed the narrative of managing hygiene issues, especially disease outbreak.
According to Mrs. Bako-Aiyegbusi: “We are winning the battle against COVID-19 because people are being encouraged to adhere to the preventive measures when the pandemic was at the peak.
“The awareness and sensitisation were massive, even on some diseases. This truly shows that more fund is needed to sustain the activities that will keep the fight”
In her presentation, the head of Programme, Population Service International, Nigeria, Dr Fatimah M. Bunza, said from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, two key achievements were recorded.
She listed re-activation of the health promotion subdomain, donation of laptops and sustained media campaigns as major successes during the period under review.
Bunza also identified effective planning and partnership between Government and the relevant actors as areas to work more on.
The HBCC2 donated key equipment to the Federal Ministry of Health to help sustain the project across the country.
It would be recalled that the programme started in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and India, is founded by Unilever and FCDO – contract with Unilever.
