The Community Health Registration Board Council of Nigeria (CHPRBN) over the weekend inducted a set of 555 Community Health Officers (CHOs) at its 43rd convocation, held in Abuja to officially mark their journey as health practitioners.
The 555 CHOs were attached to 15 accredited University Teaching Hospitals across the country and were trained in areas such as health promotion, disease prevention and primary healthcare services among others, equipping them professionally to deliver the needed first-call service to rural communities.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer/Registrar of the Board, Alhaji Idris Bashir (lifidin Jama’a) said, “Our Community Health Officers have shown remarkable resilience and adaptability in responding to the challenges posed by such pandemic as COVID-19, which should be commendable.
He said the Board had introduced and launched the community health integrated automated cloud (CHIMAC) which will enhance easier information sharing and retrieval system, as the technology will go a long way in enhancing the performance of the health officers.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Governing Board, Sule Galadima Toma urged the inductees to take advantage of the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (M.C.P.D) programme offered by the board in addition to other qualification training courses that would soon commence with the aim to specialising in PHC services.
He said courses such as Bachelor of Community Health Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Community Health Education were also being introduced in the universities for Community Health Officers to upgrade themselves.
In his message, the National President of Community Health Officers (NACHPN), Comrade Kabir Yahaha urged the community health officers to apply legal and ethical principles in their daily practice as a means of reengineering and moving the community health practice forward.
Guest speaker, Professor Kehinde Joseph Awosan of the Department of Community Health of the Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto urged the new inductees to avail themselves of the opportunities provided to better community health practices in the country.