The Strengthening Community Engagement and Accountability for PHC (SCEAP) project is an initiative designed to improve primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria through community-led advocacy and service delivery, financing, and infrastructure deployment monitoring.
The first phase of this project is implemented across 5 states with a coverage of 15 PHCs and communities, these states include Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Gombe & Yobe with a total of 20 Community-Based Organizations 4 from each of the five states.
This initiative is a collaborative engagement that is aimed at helping address the issues of drugs and supplies, inadequate and decaying infrastructure, inequity in resource distribution, access to care, and deplorable quality of care.
According to Dr. Davidson Biobole, the Coordinator of the SCEAP Project in a speech delivered at the first Coordination Meeting held in Kano State which brought together all stakeholders from the community, the health facility, and the state primary healthcare board, she spoke on the need for effective community engagement as a major tool to drive transformation at the Primary Healthcare Level.
Communities have the power to unlock the potential of Primary Healthcare and transform the health of mothers and infants. Fortunately, Nigeria’s health system provides a strong institutional foundation for community engagement. Our solution demonstrates a deep understanding of the community and key stakeholders and shares plans to engage and work with them throughout the process to ensure sustainable and durable outcomes.
In Kano State, some of the Implementing community-based Organizations spearheading the drive and engaging these communities in awareness creation, sensitization health awareness, and public ownership campaigns include YES Concept, Gayaa Youth Awareness, Health Awareness Campaign Movement, and Rural Health Accountability Project.
Group Photograph After the Coordination Meeting in Kano State
Some of the activities driving the desired objective of the project include the regular Town-Hall meeting organized among community stakeholders to discuss issues around their health facility, a weekly radio program designed to host stakeholders, and implementing CBOs to discuss some of the achievements made on the project and gap which seeks the attention of the government.
Bilqis Bala, the Executive Director of YES Concept in the weekly radio program, described the project as a human-centered project with a collaborative perspective.
“I am excited that my organization is selected as part of the implementing CBOs, this indeed is a solution-based approach to solving an existing problem and not the usual blame game of naming and shaming, the people are expected to play their role, the government will play their role and as an implementing CBO we must help balance and the whole effort,” she said.
Idris Gaya, the Executive Director of the Gayaa Youth Awareness Campaign one of the implementing CBOs of the SCEAP and the BudgIT State Officer during one of the weekly radio programs, calls for more community support.
“A project like this can only be successful if the people in the community open up to accept the program, implementation has been wonderful with the support gotten so far, just a few communities, WDC, and OICs who are still being complex and open to supporting the project, but it’s just a matter of time, they will see the benefit and intention of the project,” Gaya said.
Bilqis and Elijah During the Weekly Radio Program At Express Radio in Kano State
Sani Tanko is the Executive Director of the Health Awareness Campaign also one of the implementing CBOs of the SCEAP Project in Kano State, he described the project as a fast-growing initiative with results.
“We have been implementing projects of different types which are community-based and focused, but the feedback we get about this project is motivating and we are excited that the people are the ones saying this themselves and not even making them up.
“Although there are challenges, all of these with time will be addressed and we hope to have a functional health centre where people can get all the service they need,” Tanko added.
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