Following a comprehensive community health assessment conducted across five local government areas in Taraba State, the Taraba Progressive Frontiers Forum has formally engaged the State Ministry of Health with a detailed advocacy brief calling for urgent action to address critical gaps in primary healthcare delivery across rural communities. The assessment, which was conducted over a three-month period by TPFF’s community health team in collaboration with local health workers and community volunteers, revealed alarming deficiencies in healthcare infrastructure, staffing, medicines, and equipment at the primary care level. Key findings included widespread non-functionality of primary health centres, severe shortages of trained community health workers, high rates of maternal and child mortality in rural areas, and extremely limited access to reproductive health services for women and girls. The advocacy brief presented to the Ministry outlined a series of practical, costed recommendations including emergency rehabilitation of primary health centres, deployment of additional community health workers to underserved communities, strengthening of the maternal health referral system, and increased budgetary allocation to rural healthcare. TPFF also called for greater community participation in health facility governance through the revitalisation of Ward Health Committees. The Ministry of Health received the brief and committed to reviewing the recommendations as part of the state’s health sector reform process. TPFF will continue to monitor developments and engage the legislative arm of government to ensure that the findings are reflected in upcoming budget allocations.
