Experts in the Nigerian healthcare delivery value chain have canvassed for prompt and immediate promotion and adoption of the self-care interventions as one of the strategies to meet the universal health coverage goal by enabling individuals and families promote and maintain their healthcare needs.
They spoke at a one-day stakeholders’ meeting on the validation of the Lagos State guidelines on self-care for sexual reproductive and maternal health in Ikeja organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Health with technical and financial support from the John Snow Incorporated (JSI).
Speakers at the forum affirmed that self-care adoption is imperative in the country’s bid to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on “good health for all” as it aimed to improve the health of Nigerian women and their children through scaling up interventions in family planning.
JSI team lead, Dr. Gbenga Ishola, explained that the initiative is meant to provide universal access to healthcare delivery, adding that it is not the same thing as self- medication but basically for individuals to be able to take responsibility for their health starting from the health service provider
Ishola said, “It is a national intervention for which implementing partners including JSI supported the development of the national guidelines on self-care for sexual, reproductive and maternal health which has been disseminated in 24 states of the federation with only Lagos State taking the initiative to domesticate in by contextualising it.
On the importance of self-care health interventions, the director, Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Rodara Folashade, said “It can improve our health delivery in the state and as such we look at the guidelines in reality with what is happening in health care delivery in Lagos State.
‘’The reality is that a lot of our health workers have gone abroad, it is also an avenue for us to ensure that people take the management of their health into their own hands and having realised that there are some things people can naturally do at home without necessarily coming to the health facility to clog the place,” he said.
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