Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has emphasized that healthcare remains a top priority for his administration.
He made this statement on Sunday while receiving a delegation from Belgium, the Revive Medical Team, who were in the state for their second medical mission.
He thanked the medical team for keeping its promise of coming again to the state for a free medical mission and said that the reports he received from last year’s mission were positive.
He said, “I want to let you know that healthcare delivery is topmost on our agenda. We have driven the healthcare delivery system in Abia from where it was when we came in 2023 to the present level. We are not there yet, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“The reports I got after you left were very positive. As at the time I was inviting you, I had not gotten the feedback but interacting with you and seeing how serious you were, I was led to say come back next year.
“Just about a year ago, you were here and I had requested that you return and get the government fully integrated into the medical mission”.
The governor assured the team that adequate arrangements had been made to make them comfortable as they carried out the medical mission.
He seized the opportunity to announce that he would be flagging off the reconstruction of 200 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) to be delivered in 100 days. He said that by the time he is through with the reconstruction of the first 200 healthcare centres, he would commence another set of 200 and would continue until all the Primary Healthcare Centres in Abia State are rehabilitated and retrofitted.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Ogbonnaya, said that the medical team’s second missionary journey is in line with the governor’s vision of bringing free and quality healthcare services to Abians’ doorsteps.
Ogbonnaya noted that the team is expected to perform at least one hundred surgeries and one thousand consultations on varying health issues. He added that this medical mission, which is on the governor’s initiative, has given many Abians the opportunity to receive quality free medical care.
He described the health mission as one of the governor’s many interventions in the health sector, noting that in the days ahead, the Abia State University Teaching Hospital would have a new look as it is currently undergoing retrofitting.
In his speech, the leader of the Revive Medical Team, Belgium, De Gazelle Herman and another member of the team Smart Oriaku, said the medical mission is in response to the request of Otti, following the success of their mission last year where thousands of people benefitted.
They said that the mission will see the team perform many surgeries including Goiter, and Hernia among others as well as medical consultations.
