The Level of Community Involvement in Strengthening Primary Healthcare in Delta State, Nigeria: Are Improvements Needed?

The PHC is mainly tailored-made for the people at the community level. Therefore, it requires the participation of community members, nurses and health workers to interrelate and interconnect ideas that will eradicate health problems in their respective communities. However, over 35 years after the Alma Ata declaration of 1978 which states that “people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their healthcare”, community involvement in PHC delivery has not been convincing. The objective of this paper is to investigate the level of participation/involvement of communities in Delta state, towards strengthening of PHC centres in their localities. The data analyzed were collected from the qualitative questionnaires given to health service providers in the PHCs. The results showed that participation of local communities in the governance of PHC delivery is still not satisfactory. Consequently, their contribution to the provision of some basic physical infrastructure like building permanent PHC site, building of public toilets, etc. is still at its low ebb. Attendance at health management committee meetings is also poor. One major recommendation in the paper is for awareness campaigns/sensitization to be given to the communities on the importance of PHC services.