By Haruna Gimba
Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BaSPHCDA) in collaboration with the Chigari Foundation and other Routine Immunization Quadri-partite MoU implementing partners in the state, has inaugurated a traditional leaders committee on health.
The Bauchi State Emirates Committee on Health (BASECOH), was formed to ensure effective and efficient engagement of traditional and religious leaders in demand creation, newborn and defaulters tracking in other to improve access and coverage to routine immunization in the state.
Inaugurating the committee; the Commissioner of Health, Hajiya Halima Mukaddas appreciate the initiative for formally engaging the traditional institutions into the realm of primary health care system.
She prayed that traditional leaders as the long standing institutions in Nigeria, will work tirelessly to improve the immunization coverage of Bauchi state and Nigeria in particular.
The committee will be chaired by Emir of Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu Uthman, with representatives from Bauchi, Dass, Katagum, Ningi, Misau and Jama’are emirates.
Health Reporters learnt that the seven man committee includes the Chief Imam of Bauchi state, Alhaji Bala Baban Inna.
The 10 points term of the reference for the committee include: promotion and strengthening of demand creation activities in their emirates to increase service uptake and utilization, establishment, maintenance and review of a dashboard for routine immunization program indicators for the emirates.
Other tasks include; collection of monthly vital statistics of births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
The routine immunization program data include; children attending sessions, unimmunized children, sessions held and sessions missed, absence of health workers and disease outbreaks from their respective emirates.
