117,000 Community Health Practitioners Registered

Makurdi — The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Practitioners Registration Board of Nigeria (CHPRBN) Mr. Shiono Bennibor has said that about 117,000 community health practitioners have been registered across the country.

Speaking at the mandatory continuing education workshop for community health officers in the North-central, North-east and North-west zones holding in Makurdi, Mr. Bennibor said apart from issues of emerging and re-emerging diseases, high maternal and infant mortality rates, CHPRBN is also saddled with the issues of integrating new intervention programs into primary health care.

According to him, the present trend where community health practitioners reject postings to rural communities whereas members of other health professions crave for rural postings is a serious contradiction to the original concept of the programme. He added that the craze by community health practitioners with higher academic qualifications as against those with professional training is not good enough.

"We must grow and maintain our professional integrity. There must be a balance between the attainment of academic and professional excellence. The board is currently working with the West African Health Organization (WAHO) on the harmonization of the training curricula for community health workers in the West African sub-region", he said.

Also speaking, the chairman, CHPRBN, Alhaji M.I Yahya said the once neglected rural health care services have suddenly become the toast of all health professionals, pointing out that except community health practitioners embrace the various training and re-training programs and remain committed to living and working in the community, they would loss grip of a service that was entrusted to them.

He pointed out that the Millennium Development Goals target of year 2015 is already around the corner, and that for maternal and infant mortality to reduce, community health practitioners must bring their wealth of experience to bear in the course of their job. Declaring the workshop open, the Benue State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Orduen Abunku said the state has offered employment to medical students of Benue origin on salary Grade level 07 and that it has developed a health plan for 2011-2012 to be introduced at the local government councils. He added that a bill for the upgrade of the primary health care system in the state is before the state Assembly.
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