Group Hails NICOWA’s $145m Medical Village In Niger Delta

A a socio-political pressure group, the Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA), has lauded the Wives of Correctional Services Officers Association (NICOWA), for the conceptualisation of a $145 million medical village project in the heart of the Niger Delta region.

The association under the leadership of Mrs Victoria Nwakuche, is partnering with Bokolo-HSIC Group Limited, to actualise the state-of-the-art medical facility.

NDRA, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday by it’s director, Research and Development, Dr. Chucks Alozie, said it was grateful that the Rivers State capital was chosen to host the facility.

The statement stated that the project will stimulate both immediate and long term benefits as the youths will also be meaningfully engaged from site construction workers to actual employment opportunities for our people who are professionals in the health sector.

NDRA further stated that the facility , which will include a 120-bed space hospital and diagnostic centre will promote expertise in health delivery, which will increase the chances of the people of Niger Delta at surviving oncological diseases.

“Let it be clear, that the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 exposed the dearth of facilities in our region for which we strongly condemned the regional interventionist agency, the NDDC for a lack of focus and vision to meet one of its core objectives of providing medical care to its mandate area covering 27 senatorial districts.

“In the light of these obvious medical gaps recorded in the region and the concomitant economic effect of managing oncological and other specialized needs health situations, our organisation is proud of the initiative by the NICOWA leadership and are grateful for the choice of Port Harcourt, to site the Medical Village as setting up such a strategic health facility will in no small measure, cover the medical gaps in the region and by extension, the nation.

“Conceptualizing a $145million project in the Niger Delta will stimulate both immediate and long term benefits as the youths will also be meaningfully engaged from site construction workers to actual employment opportunities for our people who are professionals in the health sector.

“Instructively, delivering a 120-bed space hospital and diagnostic centre by NICOWA under Mrs Nwakuche will promote expertise in health delivery which will increase our people’s chances at surviving marauding oncological diseases, reduce complication rates and cut down mortality rates.

“The NDRA note with regret that the absence of such well thought-out specialized health facilities with modern facilities, robs our population of the benefits of experiencing molecular profiling which should help tailor therapies, incorporate latest research in chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and precision medicine and starves our people of effective symptom and palliative management.

“We do believe that this initiative by NICOWA will cut down on the pressures mounted on the naira by several Nigerians sourcing forex for medical tourism.“