Abia State residents are set to enjoy a healthier Christmas season as the state government has commenced a week-long free medical outreach across selected health facilities in the state.
The outreach, organised by the Abia State Government in collaboration with the Abia State Diaspora Commission, runs from December 17 to 21 and is taking place simultaneously in five centres: Abia Specialist Hospital, Aba Road, Umuahia; Uzuakoli Methodist Hospital; Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Ogbor Hill, Aba; Ahiaeke Primary Health Centre; and Okoko Item Health Centre. Medical services are being provided daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Speaking after inspecting the centres for on-the-spot assessment, the Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Uche, said the exercise had already recorded significant success, with numerous medical consultations and surgeries conducted within the first days of the programme.
According to him, the global medical mission is part of Governor Alex Otti’s transformative health agenda and a key collaboration with the Abia State Diaspora Commission aimed at expanding access to quality healthcare.
“This is part of His Excellency’s roadmap to healthcare equity in Abia State. The projects are carefully planned and implemented to ensure that people, irrespective of where they live, down to the last mile, can access high-quality healthcare,” Uche said.
He explained that the initiative focuses on taking healthcare directly to the people in order to reduce costs and improve access at the grassroots. The commissioner noted that the outreach is built on three major components: free medical services, collaboration with global health organisations, and health insurance coverage.
He added that the programme also includes training for frontline healthcare workers on basic life support and advanced cardiovascular life support, aimed at equipping them with the skills required to save lives.
Professor Uche commended Governor Otti’s strong commitment to healthcare delivery, revealing that the governor was recently recognised as the best-performing governor in the South East and among the top six nationwide for excellence in primary healthcare and overall health service delivery. He urged Abia residents to take full advantage of the free medical services.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Abia State Diaspora Commission, Okechukwu Agbara, said the medical mission is delivering free consultations, health promotion talks, skills transfer, surgeries, and specialised training in basic and advanced cardiovascular life support.
He expressed appreciation to Governor Otti for prioritising healthcare and improving the wellbeing of Abia residents, noting that eye surgeries at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Aba alone were recording about 150 procedures daily.
“Abia State is becoming a place everyone is proud of. For us in the Diaspora, it is our responsibility to support and facilitate this level of development and commitment to healthcare,” Agbara said, adding that the state’s recent Nigeria Governors’ Forum award of about $500,000 further reflects its progress.
Beneficiaries of the outreach, including parents of children who underwent hernia surgeries and patients who received free treatments at the Specialist Hospital in Umuahia and SDA Hospital in Aba, expressed gratitude to the Abia State Government for the initiative, describing it as timely and life-changing.
The free medical outreach is expected to improve access to healthcare for hundreds of residents and reinforce the state government’s commitment to people-centred development during the festive season and beyond.
