Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has made a bold statement in promoting the health sector as he laid the foundation stone of a 200-bed specialist hospital in Oba, Udenu Council Area, on Monday.

 

Speaking at the site of the proposed specialist hospital, on a well-attended occasion, he assured that his government would continue to deliver on his campaign promises in transforming the state into a desirable destination for medical tourists, who would also draw investors within the country and from countries in the African continent to the coal city state.

 

It was an occasion when Ugwuanyi received a rare approval for his people-oriented programmes from the World Health Organisation, whose representative, Mrs. Angela Izegbune, lauded him for taking such a bold move, in the health sector, in less than 100 days in office.

 

She also commended the leadership of the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sam Ngwu, for the strides, so far, and for putting together the activities that culminated in the foundation-laying ceremony.

 

Ugwuanyi told the huge crowd that the 200-ded ultra-modern specialist hospital would, on completion, bring succour to the teeming population of the communities in the densely- populated Enugu North Senatorial Zone and reduce the current pressure on the existing two tertiary health institutions in the state, whose facilities could no longer carry the huge patients-traffic at the moment.

 

He recalled that a greater percentage of Nigerians, who seek medical attention and assistance abroad were from the south-eastern region and that Enugu contributed a good percentage of them.

 

 

He enjoined medical workers and other parties to shun industrial action capable of undermining the efforts of government, especially in the health sector; situations, he said, that could result in loss of lives.

 

The governor further assured that his government would continue to provide a conducive atmosphere for the effective discharge of medicare in the state.

 

He used the occasion to commend the host communities – Oba, Imilike, and Ovoko/ Iheaka, for their understanding, as evidenced in their gesture of freely donating land and other forms of assistance for the site, while assuring that the project would completed soon.

 

According to him, apart from providing specialist services for the people in the rural communities, the health hospital would also help to check current rural-to-urban drift syndrome that, for years, had caused some visible – if unhealthy – imbalance in Nigeria’s population distribution.

 

“I wish to enjoin all stakeholders in the health sector in Enugu to key into this worthy initiative we have taken in the and give it the support and co-operation it needs to come to fruition.

 

“I wish to use the occasion to call on medical and allied workers in the state to show more dedication and commitment to their duties and, as much as possible, to avoid industrial actions that will occasion preventable loss of lives and consequent dent in faith and confidence the people invest in our hospitals.

 

“On our part, as a government, we will, as we have always promised, provide the facilities, equipment and logistical support necessary for the effective discharge of duties of health workers in the state,” Ugwuanyi said

 

By: Moses Oyediran

Daily Time