I have been debating this question for the past few weeks. I typically try to take stock when the year begins to come to a close and one of the thoughts that came across my mind was what exactly does ANPA mean to me or in what ways does it impact Nigeria as a whole in the Health care sector.
I reviewed the different posts by members on the group emails, blogs etc. and the comments reflected issues of concern to Nigeria i.e. safety, kidnapping, state of the economy, healthcare delivery, criticisms of the government , discussions about dues, membership issues etc. We celebrated the successes of our members and their families and commiserated with the families of those that passed away (may God Bless their souls). But really, how do these conversations differ from the conversations we have in other fora or gatherings? When we meet at parties and other occasions where 2 or 3 are gathered in the name of Nigeria, the same conversations take place.
So what is the value of ANPA?
The mission statement of ANPA is based on 4 separate themes . One is to foster camaraderie within the members in a professional and altruistic manner, secondly to provide an avenue to debate and foster interest in the health care issues as it pertains to Nigeria, the third rail is to develop practical solutions to the health care problems through strategic and initiative programs within Nigeria, and lastly to seek collaborative research opportunities within the international medical community and contribute to improved health care within the Americas and world wide.
The first 2 parts of the mission statement are social while the last 2 parts are practical. I truly believe we have done an excellent job on the social aspect but feel our true value will be measured on the latter aspect.
In due course, I will be blogging my thoughts on how ANPA can achieve the latter part of its Mission Statement and also looking forward to contributions of other interested parties
Dear Temisan
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a thoughtful blog that focuses our minds on what is truly important as an organization. I completely agree that we have been successful in the first two aspects of our mission, and been less successful with the latter activities. Having said that, I truly believe that our organization has been very active in the latter aspects, albeit those activities are less well publicized.
For instance, the fact that ANPA has provided direct medical care to over 150,000 Nigerians during medical missions for 15 years is not inconsequential. Also many of our chapters continue to provide volunteer health and educational value to their respective communities in the U.S.
We also requested and recently obtained the resources from USAID to begin the process of revising the 50 year old medical curriculum in Nigerian medical schools. This 2 year process will include stakeholders in Nigeria including the National Universities Commission, Medical and Dental Council, NMA, Fed Ministry of Health and an ANPA group with expertise in curriculum reform. The first meeting is scheduled for December 6th – 10th in Abuja. We believe that this will lay the foundation for producing a much better trained Nigerian physician who will be in a better position to face our healthcare challenges in the future.
Similarly, we have a request within the Nigeria country office of USAID to provide funding for a mechanism whereby diaspora physicians and ANPA members can rotate through Nigerian healthcare facilities providing expertise with direct patient care for complex medical problems.
In July 2010, ANPA collaborated with MANSAG and the Federal Ministry of Health, to form a joint technical committee to provide expertise to tertiary healthcare facilities and ministries of health in Nigeria. This committee will begin activities by years end.
We also recently signed an MOU with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency to train primary health workers and birth attendants in over 180 primary health centers in Nigeria, about recognizing perinatal asphyxia as a way to reduce the awful infant mortality rates in Nigeria.
While these activities represent very humble beginnings, I doubt that many social clubs can boast of such enduring, and focused engagement being brought to bear on a specific problem. I greatly look forward to your suggestions about how we can facilitate our mission of improving the health of Nigerian citizens.