SPARK II Flags Gaps in Anambra PHCs, Seeks More Health Workers, Better Facilities

By Praise Chinecherem

The Strengthening Public Accountability for Result and Knowledge (SPARK II) advocacy team has called on the Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ASPHCDA) to urgently address staffing shortages, inadequate infrastructure, medicine supply gaps and weak accountability mechanisms affecting primary healthcare delivery across the state.

The team made the call during an advocacy engagement with the Executive Secretary of ASPHCDA, Dr. Chizoba Ezeasor, where it presented findings from community-level assessments highlighting challenges affecting access to and the quality of primary healthcare services.

Presenting the findings, the Executive Director of the Social and Integral Development Centre (SIDEC), Ugochi Ehiahuruike, identified shortages of nurses, midwives and community health workers as major challenges confronting primary healthcare facilities.

She also highlighted delays in attending to patients, poor attitudes among some health workers, inadequate medicines and medical equipment, dilapidated infrastructure and limited accessibility for persons with disabilities.

The team further raised concerns over community participation and accountability in the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), stressing the need for stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure that resources translate into improved services for residents.

Speaking during the engagement, the SPARK II Programme Manager at Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC), Nnewi, Onyekachi Ololo, identified weaknesses in the referral pathway linking Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) with primary healthcare centres.

Ololo said the initiative was committed to translating evidence gathered from communities into practical interventions that would improve health workforce capacity, infrastructure, accountability, referral systems and patient-centred care.

He said the broader objective was to support the development of primary healthcare centres that were adequately staffed, accessible, responsive and accountable to the communities they serve.

Patient feedback, referral system targeted

Also speaking, Ikechukwu Nwabueze of Civil Rights Concern (CRC) introduced a Patients Feedback Form developed by the SPARK II project to enable patients to assess the quality of services received at primary healthcare facilities.

According to him, the tool would provide a structured channel for patients to report their experiences, helping health authorities identify service-delivery gaps and take corrective action.

The team also presented a TBA-PHC Referral Pathway Form designed to improve coordination between Traditional Birth Attendants and primary healthcare facilities, particularly in ensuring that clients requiring medical attention are referred promptly to appropriate health facilities.

SPARK II urged ASPHCDA to adopt and institutionalise both initiatives to sustain improvements from ongoing health interventions and strengthen accountability across the state’s primary healthcare system.

ASPHCDA pledges action on staffing, accountability

Responding to the findings, Ezeasor pledged the agency’s support for efforts to recruit additional health workers to address identified staffing shortages and revitalise primary healthcare centres where service-delivery challenges had been documented.

She also committed to working more closely with the SPARK II team to strengthen accountability, community participation and service delivery across primary healthcare facilities.

On the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, the executive secretary said the agency would involve the SPARK II team in implementation and monitoring processes to help ensure that the fund delivers its intended benefits to communities.

Ezeasor further expressed readiness to review the Patients Feedback Tool developed by the team, with a view to providing inputs and considering its adoption as a working document for promoting respectful, patient-centred care across the state.

Addressing concerns over the referral system, she asked the SPARK II team to assist in compiling a comprehensive list of Traditional Birth Attendants operating across Anambra State.

She explained that the information would support further engagement with the Ministry of Health and facilitate the establishment of a coordinating group for TBAs.

The executive secretary also expressed regret that the advocacy engagement had not taken place earlier, acknowledging the importance of the findings presented by the team.

50 WDCs, 24 health facility heads to receive training

As part of the next phase of the initiative, SPARK II plans to train 50 Ward Development Committees (WDCs) and 24 Officers-in-Charge (OICs), in collaboration with ASPHCDA, on the referral pathway.

The training is expected to strengthen communication and coordination among communities, primary healthcare facilities and the agency, while improving referral processes and mechanisms for receiving, documenting and addressing complaints.

The engagement marks a step towards stronger collaboration among government institutions, civil society organisations and communities in tackling persistent challenges affecting primary healthcare delivery in Anambra State.

The success of the commitments will depend on sustained collaboration, effective implementation and regular monitoring to ensure that identified gaps translate into measurable improvements in healthcare access, quality and accountability for residents.