By Precious Oham
The General Manager, Ekiti State Community and Social Development Agency, EKCSDA, Yemi Alatise, said the agency is committed to partner the State Advocacy Team working on the Global Fund C-19RM/RSSH Grant towards making the Basic Healthcare Centres in Ekiti State more functional and effective.
Speaking while playing host to the team in his office in Ado Ekiti, Alatise confirmed that health is Paramount, hence all hands must be on deck to ensure people have access to qualitative health care services particularly at the grassroots.
According to Alatise, one of the major roles of the agency is to support government to improve access to social amenities saying the visit of the advocacy time was timely.
Alatise said: “Communities are expected to make their requests. It’s community-driven approach. They do their job and all we do is to facilitate. After finding them worthy, we release funds to them to go and do the project except in areas we believe they don’t have technical resources.
Earlier in his remark, the leader of the advocacy team, State Chairman for the Civil Society in Malaria Control Immunization and Nutrition, ACOMIN, Sir Olu Ogunrotimi said the purpose of the visit is to identify with the agency on how to speed up proposals for funding of projects by the various communities.
Sir Ogunrotimi noted that the team is committed to ensuring that communities take ownership of the healthcare facilities and look out for local resources to improve the health system in their area.
He said: “We are looking at all the centres where we are working and how we can strength the community, the facilities and make the community to look for local resources to improve the health system there.
“Some of the local governments where we are working now said they have partnered with EKCSDA and some said they are doing appraisal. We decided to meet EKSDA and how can we speed up their proposals, so that they can get funds to do what they can do.”