Health
CBOs decry Poor HIV, TB Referral In Abia PHCs
By Leonard Okachie
Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) implementing Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) under NEPWHAN in Abia have decried weak HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) services across Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in the state.
NEPWHAN is Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria.
The CBOs presented their Quarter Eleven (July – September 2026) field findings during a media roundtable in Umuahia on Monday.
They comprise Greater Women Initiative to Health and Right, Synergy for Health Rights and Education and Victirian Clarion Foundation.
The State Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for NEPWHAN, Chief Whyte Ikocha, who made the presentation, said the CLM initiative was being implemented under the Global Fund GC7 grant across 13 states including Abia.
He said that the PHCs remained the first point of call for rural dwellers.
However, he pointed that clients who tested positive for HIV or presumed to have TB were often not properly linked or followed up to secondary facilities for treatment.
He attributed the gap to lack of referral focal persons, poor documentation, and absence of feedback mechanisms between PHCs and referral hospitals, among other systemic challenges.
He called on media partners to sustain evidence-based follow-up and advocacy reporting that would compel duty bearers to strengthen referral and linkage systems.
Ikocha said there was need for prompt supply of essential drugs and increased support to affected health facilities to enable communities access HIV, TB and malaria services without unnecessary obstacles and cost burden.
He said: “We ask media partners to sustain evidence-based reporting and follow up with the responsible health authorities on these commitments
“We are not just collecting data for reporting purposes.
“We need the media to track our findings, amplify the voices of communities and ensure government acts on the gaps we have identified in PHCs.”
Media practitioners at the meeting assured of sustained partnership with NEPWHAN to ensure that CLM evidence translates to improved health outcomes in the state.(NAN)www.nannews.ng
Edited by Uche Anunne
