A team of two
Victoria Atong Atu, a 42-year-old community health extension worker, is the only service provider at Primary Healthcare Center Fusa in Jos. She works with one lab technician, Elizabeth Ajik Aware, who also assists her in running the facility.
Learning new skills
Victoria has worked in this facility for the past two years of her 13 years of service with Jos East local government area. She is a big supporter of child spacing, but has had no basic training in providing long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) services prior to a training conducted by SHOPS Plus.
"LARC services were more imaginary than real"
Keen on learning, she acquired Implanon NXT insertion skills from the reproductive health coordinator (a nurse), but still did not feel confident enough to provide the service. As a result, Victoria was happy to be invited for the SHOPS Plus training on LARCs.
“Before SHOPS Plus training, LARC services were more imaginary than real," says Victoria. "I was always fearful because I don’t have any basic training on family planning. As a result, I always referred clients to General Hospital Angware in Jos East local government area or Jos University Teaching Hospital. Some clients, however, could not afford the transport fare. The SHOPS Plus training changed it all.”
"SHOPS Plus training changed it all"
The project uses a participatory training method that includes extensive group work and role play. It helped Victoria learn the skills that she needed to provide LARC services quickly. As a result, she can now confidently provide the full method mix and balanced counseling.
A dream comes true
“My clients are very happy the services I provide, as there are no complications reported from this facility," she says. "This has also made my dream come true.”
Creating awareness in communities
Victoria now feels fulfilled because she is able to help the women, men, and youth who walk into her facility seeking family planning services. She is also actively engaged in mobilizing surrounding communities for family planning services through awareness creation activities and is working on dispelling myths and misconceptions. She engages with the village head, community stakeholders, women, and youth groups to improve awareness on family planning.
An increase in demand for family planning services
As a result, the number of clients accessing family planning services has greatly increased. Demand for services before training was low, with about five clients coming in per month, mainly for injectable contraceptives and oral pills. Since she completed training, client flow has increased to an average of 25 clients per month, who are now taking advantage of having access to the full method mix.
Sharing the wealth
Victoria hopes that the government will continue to collaborate with development partners to gather resources to train more community health extension workers and midwives in Plateau in order to meet its family planning goals.
“I am very grateful to SHOPS Plus for training me to realize my dreams,” she says.
About SHOPS Plus
Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus is USAID’s flagship initiative in private sector health. The project seeks to harness the full potential of the private sector and catalyze public-private engagement to improve health outcomes in family planning, HIV, TB, child health, and other health areas. In Nigeria, SHOPS Plus has worked to increase access to uptake of family planning services, especially LARC, by delivering enhanced provider training and post-training support in the Federal Capital Territory, Plateau, Oyo, and Akwa Ibom.
Credits:
KC Nwakalor