ACOMIN project empowers communities to strengthen primary healthcare

The Kids & Teens Resource Centre, in collaboration with Civil Society for Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN), on Thursday, convened a media and stakeholder engagement meeting to highlight the impact of its community health initiatives in Ondo State.

The project, designed to empower residents through the Local Monitoring Team (LMT) system, has successfully revitalized previously neglected health facilities, encouraged preventive care, and fostered greater community ownership of local healthcare services.

 

The Program Officer for Kids and Teens Resource Center, Oluwabukola Aremu noted that the media/ stakeholders’ meeting was convened to bring journalists and key partners together to review the progress of ongoing community health interventions, stressing that the aim was not only to showcase the activities carried out so far, but also to ensure that community members and state-level stakeholders, especially from the Ministry of Health, are fully aware of the project’s achievements.

 

She added that the meeting offered an opportunity to share success stories, highlight milestones, and encourage the state government to take necessary actions that will further strengthen the project’s impact. “One major success recorded was the establishment of a functional health committee in the community. Before the intervention, there was no standard committee in place, but through advocacy and engagement, stakeholders came together to select new members and a chairman to oversee health matters in the community”.

 

The State Coordinator of ACOMIN, Mr Junaid Adeyemi Gold stated that the project was initiated to strengthen the Local Monitoring Team (LMT) system, which empowers community members to participate actively in government activities and service delivery.

According to him, the goal is to help communities understand that public facilities belong to them, not just to government officials or civil servants.

“In this particular Ero community, our third in Ondo State, the response has been very encouraging. Although the health centre was initially abandoned and located far from the centre of the community, we successfully mobilised residents to begin using it again. With available drugs, upgraded equipment and repairs initiated by the local government, including fixing the leaking roof and restoring damaged water pipes, the facility is gradually being revitalised.

He appreciated the support from member representing Idanre/Ifedore constituency, Hon. Festus Akingbaso, who promptly requested and accepted quotations for remaining repairs, has further boosted the process.

“Beyond malaria, the project focuses on three key diseases under the ATM framework: HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Our interventions therefore extend to other common health conditions affecting the community. Through outreach activities, we provided hypertension screenings, blood sugar tests, and other essential checks to help residents better understand their health status.

“These efforts aim to encourage community members to prioritise preventive care and make use of the health centre for proper diagnosis and timely treatment. A major part of our message has been the importance of choosing the community health centre over informal local practitioners, not to discredit them, but to emphasise the benefits of early detection and professional care”.

While encouraging the residents of Ondo State not to wait until illnesses become severe before seeking help, he appealed to the state government, philanthropists, and especially those in the diaspora to support this initiative. “With reduced international funding affecting many health programmes, community support is now more critical than ever to sustain quality healthcare and prevent further decline in essential services”.

 

In her remarks, the Executive Director of Kids & Teens Resource Centre, Mrs. Folashade Bamigboye, stated that while the successes recorded in Ero community are significant, there are still critical gaps that must be addressed. She called for sustained collaboration from government agencies, donors and private individuals to strengthen primary healthcare outcomes.

Also speaking, a representative from the ministry of health, Mr Bose Adu, expressed his delights with the initiative because one of the biggest challenges in public health interventions is the poor health-seeking behaviour among residents across various communities.

He said “even when the necessary resources and services are available, they become ineffective if people are not willing to visit health facilities to seek care. This gap often limits the impact of our interventions. For Kids & Teens to come forward and help bridge this gap by equipping people with the right knowledge and encouraging them to voluntarily seek medical care when they feel unwell is a significant development for us”.

He noted that their involvement strengthens community awareness and motivates residents to take advantage of available health services. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with them to reach more communities across the state and ensure that no one is left behind in accessing essential health services.

“Regarding free malaria treatment across the state, we currently have an active impact project running. The state government, through the Ministry of Health, has procured adequate malaria treatment commodities, including ACT drugs, and distributed enough testing kits to all primary healthcare facilities.

He urged anyone feeling sick or feverish to visit the nearest health facility for testing and if they test positive for malaria, they will receive treatment at no cost.

 

The Regent of Ero community, Princess Aderonke Gbadesogun, who personally graced the occasion, used the opportunity to thank the project team for their work and confirmed that more residents now visit the health centre after learning that drug costs were no longer a barrier.

While expressing satisfaction with the renewed community involvement in the project, she affirmed that the community has been awakened to their responsibility to take ownership of the project as it primarily serves residents in the area.

On her entourage was a Christian leader and a titled chief, Chief Oshodi, who also lent his voice to the impact of the interventions, describing them as timely.

Also speaking, the new OIC of the health centre, Mrs Mary Afolayan, confirmed that awareness efforts, supported by the Iyaloja, had resulted in new enrolments for malaria treatment. She explained that many residents previously unaware of the free services at the health centre have now been reached through community sensitization.

The engagement had in attendance; media professionals, health officials, community leaders and civil society stakeholders.