Abstract
Utilization of communication for development (C4D) techniques in organizational capacity-building support provided by foreign aid-assisted developmental programs run by non-governmental organization (NGOs) has been shown to improve primary health care (PHC) services in both urban and rural communities, especially the latter. This study investigated stakeholder perceived benefits of organizational capacity-building support provided by NGOs toward the improvement of PHC services in Yobe State. Adopting a case study approach with key informant interview (KII), the responses of four key management staff of Yobe State Primary Health Care Management Board (YSPHCMB) were captured and analyzed using the organizational capacity assessment tool model and critical discourse analysis. The key findings revealed that two critical C4D techniques namely, advocacy and behavior-change communication have impacted significantly toward the strengthening of both YSPHCMB and improvement of PHC services in rural areas of the state more than it did in urban centers; organizational capacity-building support provided by NGOs have significantly strengthened the capacity of YSPHCMB effectively more than both the State and Federal Governments (the primary funders of PHC services) did; and perceived sustainability crisis (PSC) in the event of the expiration of the tenure of some NGOs and developmental programs has been identified as a critical challenge that may affect the tremendous successes achieved by the programs/NGOs negatively should they close as anticipated. To avert the occurrence of PSC in the aftermaths of the closure of an NGO, both the State and Federal Governments should ensure enough and timely release of PHC counterpart funding. Keywords: C4D, communication for development, Nigerian primary health care services, NGO, OCAT, organizational capacity assessment tool, PHC, DOI : 10.7176/DCS/9-3-03 Publication date :March 31 st 2019
Highlights
Located in the Sahel Savannah zone in north-eastern Nigeria, Yobe State is largely rural and one of the poorest states in the country
The health service system in the state is split into three sub-systems, namely Yobe State Ministry of Health (YSMOH), Yobe State Hospitals Management Board (YSHMB) and Yobe State Primary Health Care Management Board (YSPHCMB), which is responsible for the management of all activities involving primary health care services provision in the state including coordinating the activities of Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities (The World Bank 2016c; Vanguard 2016)
The key informant (KI) was asked regarding the performance of YSPHCMB and his responses are summarized below: “YSPHCMB is definitely coming of age, especially with support from [non-governmental organizations (NGOs)] because prior to the coming of support from Department for International Development (DFID)-assisted NGOs, UNICEF-assisted NGOs and Red cross-assisted NGOs such as MNCH2, it wasn’t like it is
Summary
Located in the Sahel Savannah zone in north-eastern Nigeria, Yobe State is largely rural and one of the poorest states in the country. YSHMB is statutorily mandated to manage the affairs of all secondary health care facilities in the state are while YSMOH focuses on the coordination of the activities of department and agencies under its jurisdiction and formulation of policies and strategies for the entire health sector in the state (Vanguard 2016). At the national level, the Nigerian health system operates primary health care at the Local Government level, secondary health care at State level and tertiary health care at Federal level. At the national level the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) takes care of the provision of support for the implementation of PHC service in the country (Adeniyi et al 2001; Chibuzor 2018; The World Bank 2016d)
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