In Governance, health is cited as one of the key factors in balancing the concerns of the government and public sector with the interests of civil society/private players, but often remains poorly described and operationalized.
This has been the story of many developing sub-Saharan states, especially in Nigerian states but with the advent of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration, the story of the South Eastern state, Enugu has changed for the better.
Enugu state in the previous post had Park Lane as its only functional General Health facility, situated in the heart of the city’s capital, and the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital also sited within the state capital as the only Tertiary Health Facility to cater to the health needs of the population of about 3 million people.
Enugu has had to date only one Orthopedic Hospital which caters to the rest of the South Eastern states thus making it inadequate to meet the demands, but that usually is not a major concern as the rural community settlers seldom need such tertiary hospitals. The menace that has beleaguered communities in rural and sub-rural communities in most states has been the availability of functional Primary Health Care centers and also proximity Secondary Health Facilities which can be accessed by the population.
The Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led administration after a proper NEEDS assessment of these issues, opted to bring health care service delivery closer to the people in these parts and this gave birth to the upgrade of various Primary Health Facilities across communities and decentralization of the tertiary Health Facilities across the state.
With the siting of the nearly completed Enugu State College of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, situated in the Igbo-Enu part of the state, health services can be accessed by both travelers from the Northern parts entering Enugu and also the settlers and indigenes of these areas. This reduces travel time for cases of referrals to tertiary health facilities and also decreases cases of congestion of health facilities within the city center.
Another of such laudable feats in the strengthening of the health sector in Enugu is the recent signing of the agreement between the state government and the NSIA on the takeover of the state-of-the-art Cancer and Oncology and Diagnostics Center, built and equipped by the state government to cater to the needs of Cancer patients across the South East Region.
Enugu govt, NSIA sign agreement on taking over of State Medical Diagnostic Centre.
The administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu State has signed an agreement with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for the federal agency to take over the state-of-the-art Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre, Enugu.
The agreement is to pave the way for the NSIA to provide comprehensive medical, diagnostic, and oncology (cancer) treatment services to the people of Enugu State and beyond.
The agreement to take over the health facility was reached after a series of negotiations between the Enugu State Government and the NSIA.
Gov. Ugwuanyi, who was represented by his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, signed the agreement on behalf of the Enugu State Government while the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, signed on behalf of the agency during the ceremony held at the Kano Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
The signing of the agreement between the Enugu State Government and the NSIA was witnessed by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Miletus Eze, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Enugu, Prof. Malachy Okwueze and the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi.
Consequently, the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre, Enugu will now be known as Medical Diagnostic and Oncology (Cancer) Treatment Centre.
Speaking during the event, the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Orji, disclosed that the agency signed lease and collaboration agreements for the expansion of diagnostic services with three state governments (Enugu, Kwara, and Kaduna) and five federal establishments, including oncology (cancer) treatment services with Enugu State.
Mr. Orji stated that the three state governments that participated in the exercise (Enugu, Kwara, and Kaduna) had expedited action on negotiations with the NSIA and reached the stage of signing agreements.
“These investments are expected to build new or upgrade institutions to modern medical diagnostic centers and provide access to advanced healthcare services for the benefit of lower income families with limited access to care and significantly enhance Nigeria’s ability to treat life-threatening Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).”
In her remarks, Gov. Ugwuanyi’s representative, Hon. Mrs. Ezeilo thanked the NSIA for the opportunity given to Enugu State to benefit from the healthcare expansion initiative.
She pointed out that the initiative is in tandem with the state government’s vision and commitment to quality healthcare service delivery for the people of Enugu State and beyond.
Hon. Mrs. Ezeilo commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for the landmark achievement as well as his dexterity, foresight, and frantic efforts towards providing healthcare facilities for the people of the state, stressing that the governor has done so much in the health sector, likewise in other sectors, despite the state’s lean resources and the nation’s economic, security and public health challenges.
A healthy person is a wealthy people.
The Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi led administration has set its eyes on providing affordable health care services to people of the state and beyond and this is a lasting legacy that will forever be remembered as one of his landmark achievements as the state governor alongside his cabinet who also keyed into the dream.
