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1 February 2021

The DAC project held its first data review meeting in the FCT on 26th and 27th January 2021. The meeting, which took place at Grand Cubana, Jabi, Abuja, was facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), and Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), with funding from the World Diabetes Foundation.

In attendance was the Ag. Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Health Care Board (PHCB), Dr. Ndaeyo Iwot; the Director Disease Control, FCT PHCB, Dr. Yakubu Mohammed, the Director of PHC Bwari, Dr. Sunday Goji, the Director of PHC AMAC, Dr. Modupe Adeyinka and the FCT National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) officer, Mr. James Alege. Also present were representatives of the Director of Public Health, Health and Human Services Secretariat of the FCT, and representatives of the Community Based Organization on the DAC project, Society for Women’s Development and Empowerment of Nigeria (SWODEN).

The meeting aimed to share data and insights from the 19 months of intervention, discuss achievements and challenges from implementation, and review data tools, data management processes, and submission pathways.

Fifty representatives from the engaged healthcare facilities across Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and Bwari local government area, and their monitoring and evaluation officers attended the meeting on respective days, based on their local government areas.

Facility representatives outlined several benefits of the DAC project, pertaining to them as health workers, their facility, clients, and their community alike. Among these were the early identification of clients with hyperglycemia and hypertension, improved knowledge on diabetes and the importance of a healthy lifestyle amongst health workers and community members alike, and the provision of screening equipment, PPE, and consumables at no cost to the facility.

Reporting rates varied across health facilities, with some facilities achieving 100% and others as low as 6%. Facilities reported high attrition rates, lack of manpower, misunderstanding of tools as some of the challenges that impaired their reporting. To mitigate this, the facilitators informed participants that coaching and mentoring visits, which were hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would resume, while a batch of refresher training would be conducted, and schedules would be created to ensure regular data supply for reporting facilities. In addition, facilitators were urged to continue timely submission of forms and ensure that data is being captured accurately.

While the DAC project commenced in 2018, in two pilot states (FCT and Imo state), community and PHC level interventions began in 2019. The project aims to raise awareness of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), early identification of those at risk, and strengthen the PHC to be responsive to persons living with diabetes in the beneficiary communities.

In the FCT, the DAC project is ongoing in 54 healthcare facilities (9 private facilities and 45 public facilities) across two LGAs- Bwari and AMAC. Between June 2019 – December 2020 (19 months), about 120 health care workers were trained, with over 12,500 people screened and counseled at health facilities. While at the community level, about 200,000 persons have been reached with awareness messages, and about 11,000 persons screened. If successful, the project will be scaled up to other states/communities.

Participants at the review meeting

Interractive session

The Ag. Executive Secretary, FCT PHCB, Dr. Ndaeyo Iwot addressing the participants