Training was once again a top topic at this week’s UK-Nigeria meeting. It is in fact an intrinsic part of Fantsuam Foundation - be it computer training at the Academy or health education or teaching staff to take blood samples from 5,000 children to screen for Sickle Cell Disease.
It seems that once again FF has excelled in this area. Towards the end of 2010 I reported that John was hoping to set up Community Health Committees, and in December we were delighted to report that three communities had signed up to the concept. It was therefore very exciting to learn that on the 3rd February training for representatives from the now 15 CHCS will take place at FF.
John Dada went on to explain that the one-day training is to get the CHCs formally started, give them tips on making sure they are as inclusive as possible, and to share thoughts on how they prioritise and mobilise resources to meet their community’s health needs. The training will take place in the Knowledge Resource Centre, but John has contingency plans in place to ‘spill over’ into the ‘Fish Farm’ if numbers are high.
VSO has provided about UKP1,000 to get the CHCs started, and as is usual, FF will be stretching the funds as far as they will go.
The team were appreciative of the the Tweet sent by Kelechi to #Dadamac last week while he was attending a stakeholder meeting between ICAP and CIHP. During our session, he explained that ICAP is leaving Nigeria and handing over their activities to another local NGO: Centre for Integrated Health Programmes.
CIHP have a wider focus than just HIV/AIDS and will focus on other health issues too. The hope is that this will also work alongside the CHCs.
Other Matters
Discussion about exploring how to make the best use of the donated colour photo printer. The plan is to find a sustainable business model and to also consider including the local photographer in our deliberations.