Abia State government has set for itself the task of renovating a total of 200 primary health centres across the state in a spate of 100 days beginning from September.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu made this known while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday August 12, 2024.
He described the project as “a bold step” by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the State Primary Health Development Agency (ASPHDA) to improve the quality of healthcare services at the primary level.
“All the 184 wards of the state will benefit from this project,” he said, adding that on completion the renovated health centres “will turn out to be some form of Christmas gift to Abians” from Governor Alex Otti.
At the last count Abia has a total of 778 primary health centres out of which only few are functional at the inception of the present administration.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Ngozi Azodoh said that the intention of the Otti administration “is to renovate and retrofit the (designated) 200 primary health centres to bring them to standard” within 100 days.
Meanwhile, Abia has pressed the alert button in its medical services placing the personnel on high surveillance alert following reported cases of monkeypox.
Kanu said that 13 suspected cases of the infectious viral disease were reported at Mbawsi in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government and tests were promptly done to ascertain if they were Mpox.
He said that the results of the confirmatory tests showed that nine came out negative while only one tested positive, adding that results of the remaining three cases were being awaited.
Kanu urged Abia residents to maintain the required preventive protocol to stop the spread of the disease not just in the affected area but throughout the state.
On her part, Dr Azodoh stressed that sustained personal hygiene “remains the best preventive measure, adding that people should also minimise contact with animals and persons already infected by the viral disease.
The SA on Health stated that isolation centres in the state have been strengthened to handle the Mpox emergency as soon as cases are reported and confirmed.
Leave a Reply