Experts say there is the need for the federal government and other stakeholders to integrate community pharmacists and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) in the provision of family planning services.
They stated this during a media roundtable on the IntegratE project organised by the Nigeria Health Watch, in collaboration with Society for Family Health.
The IntegratE project implemented by a consortium led by the Society of Family Health (SFH) is co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and MSD for mothers with the aim of improving the quality of family planning services delivered by Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicines Vendors (PPMVs) in underserved areas of Lagos and Kaduna States.
The implementation of a PCN approved tiered accreditation system supports efficient and quality service delivery.
Emeka Okafor, Project Director, IntegratE project, Society for Family Health, said there is need to revise the task shifting and task sharing policy to formally integrate PPMVs in the provision of family planning services, to empower them with necessary skills and ensure quality service delivery.
He said, “Let’s have that framework that will allow these people to provide these services qualitatively. So you have options of accessing family planning services through the public sector or private sector channels, and also get the quality and standard of service.”
The Director and Head, Reproductive Health Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Kayode Afolabi, said improving uptake of family planning commodities cannot be done by government alone, but with collaboration with other stakeholders such as the private sector.
He said the private sector accounts for about 60 per cent of health services provision, particularly sexual reproductive and health services.
The Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharmacist Elijah Mohammed, said community pharmacies and patent and proprietary medicine vendor shops are usually the first point of accessing primary health care for most Nigerians, especially in rural and underserved areas.
He said while PPMVs are especially popular for family planning due to their widespread availability, location in the community, consistent drug stocks, extended hours, personable interactions and free consultation services, they are often responsible for prevalent sub-optimal care in the health sector.
“Consequently, because of their poor-quality services occasioned by poor skills and knowledge, PPMVs have not been streamlined into the formal health system by the public sector and government, which impacts on timely referrals and follow-on treatments,” he said.
The Managing Director, Society for Family Health, Dr. Omokhudo Idogho, who was represented by the deputy chief of party for the IntegratE project, Michael Alagbile, said since 2017, the project has been able to deliver high impact training on family planning to private sector providers in the two states.
“The project also successfully developed a demand creation, reporting and referral systems aimed at strengthening family planning service delivery at the community level,” he added.
Vivianne Ihekweazu, Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch, said the project has shown how the private sector could support the government in upscaling access to family planning services in the country particularly in rural areas.
