Abia State Government has said its health sector transformation is on track with the completion of rehabilitation or rebuilding and retrofitting of 140 primary health centres (PHCs) of the 200 under the ‘Project Ekwueme’.
This is because two new infectious disease isolation centres have been established at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Aba, and Uzuakoli Leprosy Centre, in addition to the flagship isolation centre at the State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, Amachara.
The Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, who disclosed this in Umuahia with his Information counterpart, Prince Okey Kanu, said that in line with the health infrastructural rejuvenation programme of Governor Alex Otti, the State government is commencing functionalisation of the newly renovated PHCs.
“We started with 17. Now 33 will be functionalised within the next week. And tomorrow, we will start with Nkwoegwu at Umuahia North, and then Ogbodinibe in Umuahia South. At the same time, another team will be at Ndawa and Lopkaukwu in Umunneochi.
“We have the directive of exco to add another 50 before the end of the month.
So at the end of the month, we’ll be having hundreds of Project Ekwueme PHCs functionalised. So by the end of next month, we will have functionalised the 200,” Prof. Uche stated.
Prof Uche disclosed that the State Executive Council has approved the domestication of the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, a project of the federal government to reduce maternal mortality across the country.
“This is essentially a series of initiatives that are meant to help both the health workers and the mothers and the community to come together and address the causes of high maternal mortality and ensure that it’s eradicated or reduced.”
The Commissioner also announced the approval of the State Executive Council to establish new general hospitals in Ohanku, Ukwa East, and Umunneochi, adding that a brand new general hospital would also be built in Okpuala Ngwa to replace the old dilapidated one.
He noted that works are ongoing at some general hospitals, including Okeikpe, Ikwuano, Obingwa, among others, noting that the Abia State health sector transformation was acknowledged at a recent meeting of medical consultants in Enugu as a model and exemplary.
