Governor of Enugu of State, Peter Mbah, has risen in defence of his administration’s huge investment and prioritization of healthcare delivery.
The governor said the decision was informed by his understanding of the import of a healthy population and healthy workforce.
Mbah, who said the administration was in the process of constructing 260 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in all the electoral wards and also ensure that every local government area got at least one world class secondary health facility, vowed that his administration would not relent until every child, mother, the elderly and Enugu citizen has access to better healthcare.
This was even as UNICEF commended the administration for its commitment to healthcare and nutrition.
Mbah stated this at the weekend during an inspection tour of a primary health centre at Ogononoeji Ndiuno, Akpugo, Nkanu West LGA, where he also interacted with health workers and community leaders towards primary healthcare improvement.
He said, “Healthcare is at the core of what we do in Enugu State. Indeed, outside education in our social services sector, the next sector that is taking the largest part of our 2024 budget is healthcare.
“It is so because we understand the importance of having a healthy society and indeed a healthy workforce. And in that hierarchy of healthcare, we see the primary healthcare as the most important,” he said.
Mbah said that it was for this reason that the administration had undertaken a thorough study of the challenges in the primary healthcare space “to have reliable data to craft adequate strategy to address them”, adding that the administration had since swung into action.
“That is why, as you must have heard from the Commissioner for Health, we are going to be developing 260 world class Type-2 primary healthcare centres across the entire wards in Enugu State.
“Our strategy in that area is that rather than spread ourselves thinly across 557 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), we want to focus on consolidating our resources and developing 260 world class Type-2 PHCs because we want to provide 24-hour services in each PHC so that at any time, you would have access to quality primary health care in our rural communities across the state,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the chief of field office, UNICEF, Enugu, Juliet Chiluwe, had while commending Mbah administration’s effort at improving healthcare and nutrition also pledged the continued support of the international agency to the government.
“Your policies on healthcare and nutrition are commendable. We commend you for aspiring to make the state the best in the nation, and we are certain that with your support, we will win the leadership challenge.
“We are also impressed with the 260 proposed PHCs and UNICEF will support you”, she stated.
Earlier, the executive secretary, Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ESPHCDA), Dr Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, said the administration was embarking on massive recruitment of health workers in 2024, adding that the state has set up a seven-man committee to assess the performance of LGAs in primary healthcare delivery.
She said the agency recorded 75 percent success on the cervical cancer vaccination campaign in October, the disease being the second major cause of death among women, while also training midwives to manage obstetrics and child delivery in rural areas.
On his part, the state’s commissioner for health, Prof Emmanuel Obi, assured the women that the new PHCs would reach every rural community, saying the state was doing well in the health sector because of Governor Mbah’s leadership.
The chairman of Nkanu West LGA, Hon Uche Ejim; and a traditional ruler, Igwe Amushi Nwodo, who spoke on behalf of the 12 Akpugo communities and other royal fathers; and a community woman leader, Mrs Chinyere Ani, expressed satisfaction with the determination of the Mbah administration to turn around the health sector in rural communities in the state and pledged their total support.
