By Chukwudi Nwauba
Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike has applauded United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) for their timely interventions in health emergencies across the state.
Dr. Obidike made the commendation while chairing the Emergency Preparedness and Response meeting with his technical team and UNICEF field office staff in his office at the Jerome Udoji, Awka.
He explained that with the continued assistance from UNICEF the state was able to respond to flood affected communities and receive the technical support in responding to the Lassa fever outbreak in the state.
“Together with UNICEF we are reviewing the recovery phase of the Emergency flood response with the objective of implementing costed plans supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) programmes.”
The commissioner assured them of the State Government commitment in partnering with them for the benefits of the public.
Enugu UNICEF Health Specialist Field Officer, Dr. Ifeyinwa Anyanyo reiterated the need for timely implementation of funded activities.
Dr. Anyanyo said the programme is geared towards strengthening health systems for the benefit of the communities with focus on interventions to improve the wellbeing of women and children in the flood affected LGAs.
“We are providing cross-sectional collaboration with the Anambra state government on the recovery phase of the Emergency flood response.
She explained that the engagement meeting with the stakeholders was also to review the progress of implementation of the ongoing CERF and SIDA funded programs.
According to her, the meeting also highlighted the importance of the need to scale up support on the ongoing Lassa fever outbreak particularly in the area of risk communication and logistics support for drugs.
“The ongoing stakeholder’s engagement strives to fast track and provide real time updates on the ongoing programs while strengthening the resilience of the state’s health systems to prepare, mitigate and respond to public health emergencies and disease outbreaks. (Ministry Of Information)
