By STELLA JOHNSON OGBOVOVEH

IMPACT Partnership Transforms Delta Primary Healthcare, Assessment Tour Reveals

Statewide Assessment Begins

PRIMARY healthcare delivery across Delta State is undergoing a statewide assessment as the state government, in partnership with the Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) Project, evaluates the condition and performance of healthcare facilities across the state’s 25 Local Government Areas.

The exercise is designed to assess the quality of services available at Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), identify gaps requiring further intervention and determine the extent to which ongoing investments are translating into improved healthcare outcomes for residents.

The IMPACT Project is implemented by the Federal Government through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in partnership with the Delta State Government.

Its focus includes strengthening primary healthcare delivery, with particular attention to maternal and child health, immunisation, malaria control and the overall functionality of PHCs.

Infrastructure & Equipment Receive Attention

An initial assessment of facilities in Oshimili South Local Government Area covered the Model Primary Healthcare Centre in Asaba, Okpanam Primary Healthcare Centre and the Primary Healthcare Centre in Umuagu.

Healthcare workers at the facilities reported improvements in infrastructure, equipment, availability of medicines and maternal healthcare services following government and project interventions.

At the Umuagu Primary Healthcare Centre, the Officer-in-Charge and Director of Nursing Services, Mrs. Angele Ossai, commended the state government and the IMPACT Project for what she described as significant improvements in the facility.

She identified the construction of a laboratory, provision of staff quarters and renovation and repainting of the health centre as some of the interventions that had improved the facility’s capacity to serve residents.

Umuagu Seeks More Personnel & Facilities

While acknowledging the progress recorded, Ossai said additional needs remained.

She appealed to the state government to provide a permanent canopy for the facility and recruit more healthcare personnel.

The requests highlight a recurring challenge in primary healthcare delivery: physical infrastructure and equipment must be accompanied by adequate staffing and functional support systems if improved facilities are to translate into sustained quality care.

Okpanam Reports Expanded Services

At the Okpanam Primary Healthcare Centre, the Officer-in-Charge, Mrs. Yemi Okaka, described the IMPACT intervention as a significant boost to the facility.

She said the project had supported renovation works, provided operational funding, volunteer health workers, essential medicines and delivery kits.

According to her, these interventions had improved the efficiency and quality of services provided to residents.

She also highlighted the effect of free maternity services, saying pregnant women who delivered at the facility benefited from services without paying delivery-related fees.

The availability of such services, she said, had encouraged more pregnant women to seek care from skilled health personnel.

Free Maternal Care Drives Facility-Based Deliveries

At the Model Primary Healthcare Centre in Asaba, the Officer-in-Charge, Mrs. Eboigbe Isioma, also attributed improvements in service utilisation to the intervention.

She said the introduction of free maternal and delivery services had resulted in a 70 per cent increase in facility-based deliveries at the centre.

The increase suggests that removing or reducing financial barriers can influence where women seek care during pregnancy and childbirth.

For primary healthcare facilities, higher utilisation can also strengthen the connection between expectant mothers and skilled health workers, potentially improving access to antenatal monitoring, safe delivery services and postnatal care.

Beneficiaries Describe Reduced Financial Pressure

For some beneficiaries, the most visible impact has been the reduction in the cost of accessing maternal healthcare.

Mrs. Eze Chidera, one of the beneficiaries, said she did not pay medical bills throughout her pregnancy and delivery.

She said she received quality care and delivered without complications, expressing appreciation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Mercy Okafor, said free maternal and child healthcare services had reduced the financial burden on families while improving access to healthcare.

Their experiences provide a household-level perspective on the broader policy objective of making essential healthcare more accessible.

Beyond Maternal Healthcare

Although maternal and child health has emerged as one of the most visible components of the intervention, the IMPACT Project has a wider primary healthcare mandate.

Its areas of focus include immunisation, malaria control and strengthening the general functionality of PHCs.

This is significant because primary healthcare facilities constitute an important point of contact between residents and the formal health system.

When facilities have functional infrastructure, essential medicines, trained personnel and operational resources, they are better positioned to provide preventive and basic curative services close to where people live.

The Staffing Question

The requests coming from facilities such as Umuagu also demonstrate that infrastructure investment does not automatically resolve all primary healthcare challenges.

A newly constructed laboratory requires personnel to operate it.

Renovated buildings require maintenance.

Medical equipment requires trained operators and regular servicing.

Free services require sustainable financing and reliable supplies.

Additional staff may therefore become increasingly important as improved facilities attract more patients.

From Infrastructure to Sustainable Service Delivery

The ongoing assessment offers an opportunity to examine whether investments are being sustained beyond the initial intervention.

The performance of PHCs ultimately depends not only on the physical appearance of facilities but also on staffing levels, medicine availability, equipment functionality, patient volumes, funding, referral systems and the quality of care delivered.

The reported increase in facility-based deliveries provides one indicator of improved utilisation, but broader assessment will be necessary to determine the full effect of the interventions across Delta’s 25 Local Government Areas.

A Statewide Test of Primary Healthcare

The assessment tour is expected to provide government and its partners with information on the condition of PHCs across the state and the additional support required.

For Delta residents, the significance of the exercise lies in whether improvements recorded at the facilities already visited can be sustained and replicated across other parts of the state.

The reported gains at Umuagu, Okpanam and the Model PHC in Asaba suggest that targeted investments can change how residents experience primary healthcare.

But the requests for more personnel and additional infrastructure also demonstrate that the work remains ongoing.

As the assessment continues across the state, the broader test will be whether the partnership can translate facility-level improvements into a more consistent, accessible and sustainable primary healthcare system for communities throughout Delta State.