Posted by Traditional leaders in the South East have been urged by the federal government and the government of Anambra State to promote primary healthcare services in their spheres of influence.
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) Executive Director and CEO Faisal Shuaib and Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo made the decision at the inaugural Quarterly Review Meeting of the South East Traditional Rulers’ Committee (SETRC) on Primary Healthcare Delivery in Awka.
Shuaib, who was represented by Bassey Okposen, Director of Disease Control and Immunization (DCI), pleaded with the monarchs to work hard to make sure that healthcare services are delivered effectively in their regions.
According to him, traditional leaders have the ability to mobilize and bring communities together as well as influence the region’s health landscape. They are the guardians of cultural heritage.
“The monarch’s support for primary healthcare efforts can have a big impact on how the populace feels and behaves.
They can work along with experts and healthcare professionals to distribute correct information about nutrition, family planning, immunization, and other important primary healthcare topics by dispelling myths and encouraging evidence-based practices. They can develop a culture in which people are knowledgeable and prepared to make wise health decisions.
Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, opened the event earlier and, through his deputy, Onyeka Ibezim, underlined the importance of traditional leaders in advancing the provision of healthcare by the monarchs.
Soludo emphasized that his administration has adopted a bottom-up strategy to guarantee that the state’s healthcare system is operational.
Lawrence Agubuzu, the chairman of the Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers, stated that despite the general election preventing the meeting from taking place last quarter, the monarchs would still support the provision of primary healthcare in the region.
“We are here to demonstrate the traditional South Eastern rulers’ concern for our people’s health,” he stated. Whatever we decide, we make sure that it is communicated to every region of the South East as representatives of our people.