“Without a centralised health database for many families to rely upon and keep them informed of the necessary health processes in a child’s first thousand days of life, the PHR acts as an innovation that placeds crucial knowledge directly into the mothers’ hands, and empowers her to provide, analyse and follow-up on her own data – to be in control of her own situational analysis. The digitisation of the PHR to inform similar nationwide efforts by qualified midwives would place Nigeria at the forefront of improving maternal and infant health outcomes. It would be fitting to imagine the impact of scaling and achieving comprehensive coverage of data for health here in Nigeria, where the idea for a home-based record was developed and has since been successfully deployed in countries like the UK and Japan.” 

H.E. MRS TOYIN OJORA SARAKI

Founder-President, Wellbeing Foundation Africa


INTRODUCTION TO THE WBFA PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD
 

In 2009, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa launched its flagship health-enhanced data tool, the Nigeria Integrated Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Personal Health Record (IMNCH PHR).  We  worked in partnership and consultation with global and local stakeholders in the field of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH), including the United Kingdom’s Perinatal Institute, the Japanese International Development agency JICA to establish Nigeria’s Joint Agencies Harmonisation Task Force on Integrated Maternal Newborn and Child Health, the membership of which was drawn from Federal Ministry of Health’s MNCH Core Technical Committee, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCDHA), the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the National Population Commission (NPopC), Paediatric Association Of Nigeria (PAN), Society Of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SOGON), and the World Health Organisation (WHO), to develop this home-based patient health records book PHRB.

Following a meeting on 10th June 2009, the Joint Agency Harmonisation Task Force issued the following communiqué:
All the agencies present agreed that the Personal Health Records book is a data collection tool that will improve service delivery at all levels of healthcare.
It will enhance quality of care in terms of service delivery It will serve as a motivational tool for demand creation and increased service uptake
It will provide quality verifiable data for evidence-based decision making and policy formulation.


The Joint Agency Task Force recommended that:

The Federal Government takes the lead in the implementation of the PHRB initiative, and urge the States and LGAs, development partners and other key stakeholders to support the implementation processes at all levels of care.
The production and implementation of the PHRB for national use should be fast tracked.
The tool should be pre-tested in selected facilities, with the view to piloting it under the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS)
The initial seed stock of 200,000 copies be urgently procured for the 156 LGAs selected for the MSS, and 18 LGAs for the NHIS-MDG’s MCH project as a pilot. The FMOH, NPHCDA, NHIS, NBS, NPC, and development agencies should partner with the WBF for the supply of initial seed stock.
‘To ensure sustainability, the PHRB should be domiciled in the NPHCDA of the FMOH, while support may be sought from the organised private sector.
In view of the upcoming launch of the MSS, the development of the work plan should commence immediately.


The WBFA IMNCH PHRB was launched in July 2010 aligned with the launch of the Midwives Service Scheme of the NPHCDA, and rolled out to Primary Health Centres throughout the 36 States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with a scale-up production of a further 40,000 records distributed in November 2012.


In 2013, the WBFA created an additional range of home-based health records in response to the particular needs of patients and health-facilities in A4 format, to suit the facility file sizes, and in simpler layout to meet lower production costs for wider implementation at

scale alongside its existing A5 format plasticised cover and carbonised page models.


The WBFA and its licensed distributors currently offer:

A4 Universal RMNCAH Home-Based Records

- WBFA Universal Maternal Notes

- WBFA Universal Health Maternal Health Record Book

- WBFA Universal Health Child Health Record Book

 

A5 IMNCH Home-Based Records

- WBFA Integrated Maternal Newborn and Child Health Record Book

- WBFA Integrated Maternal Health Record Book

- WBFA Integrated Child Health Record Book

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