The Anambra State Ministry of Health has commenced a three-day strategic workshop aimed at developing a five-year roadmap to strengthen health promotion and communication interventions across the state.
The workshop, which began on Monday in Awka, is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and other development partners.
The exercise is expected to produce a comprehensive and context-specific strategic framework to guide health promotion activities in Anambra State over the next five years.
Speaking on the rationale for the workshop, Olumide Adetioye, a consultant with the Advancing Integrated Health Services for SRHR and Communicable Diseases Project at WHO, said fragmented health promotion activities by various programmes and development partners had resulted in inefficiencies, inconsistent messaging and reduced impact on population health.
He said the workshop was designed to promote coordination, harmonisation and evidence-based programming among stakeholders in the state’s health sector.
According to him, the objectives include establishing a common understanding of the health promotion landscape in Anambra, adapting the National Health Promotion Framework to the specific needs of the state, and jointly developing a five-year operational roadmap.
Declaring the workshop open, the Director of Public Health, Dr Afam Anaeme, who represented the Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, welcomed participants and stressed the importance of coordinated efforts in achieving improved health outcomes.
Goodwill messages were also delivered by representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), WHO, UNICEF and other development partners. Participants were also taken through the objectives of the workshop and an overview of the State Health Promotion Programme.
During the workshop, findings from the Communication Gaps Assessment were presented, highlighting key areas requiring attention to improve health promotion and communication interventions across the state.
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The workshop also featured an introduction to the State Health Promotion and Communication Framework, while participants conducted a SWOT analysis of the Health Promotion Programme in Nigeria.
Participants subsequently worked in groups to define the strategic direction of health promotion in Anambra State, including the development of the programme’s vision, mission, goals and proposed strategic objectives.
The group sessions also focused on identifying priority intervention areas, with participants presenting the outcomes of their discussions.
The workshop, which ends on August 12, is expected to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to develop practical, sustainable and locally responsive strategies for improving health promotion across Anambra State.
At the end of the exercise, stakeholders are expected to produce a five-year operational roadmap that will provide clear direction for coordinated and evidence-based health promotion and communication interventions across the state.
