World Bank Clears Abia To Benefit From $250m Health Security Grant

The World Bank has cleared Abia State to benefit from a $250 million grant on health security in the country. This was disclosed by the commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu.

Kalu announced this while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s state executive council meeting chaired by the governor, Alex Otti in Umuahia, the capital.

He thanked the World Bank for the gesture which he attributed to the ongoing reforms of the Otti administration in the health sector of the state.

His words “The ongoing reforms of the government in the health sector helped to qualify the state as one of the beneficiary states of the grant.”

The commissioner also announced the domestication of the federal government’s Rural Emergency Services and Maternal Transport Programme in the state.

He said the programme commenced with Bende, Obingwa, and Ukwa East local government areas which are reputed to have the highest maternal mortality rates in the state.

“The major objective of the programme is to provide access to emergency care in order to reduce maternal, child, and neonatal mortality,” the government’s spokesperson added.