Lai Mohammed Maintains Buhari’s Interest In Quality Healthcare

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Nigerian government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is focused on providing quality healthcare delivery for its citizens through the implementation of Universal Health Coverage.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during the commissioning of an 80-bed multi-purpose hospital in Oro, Irepodun local government area of Kwara State, funded by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.

EDITOR’S PICK 

• Buhari Under Pressure From NLC To Intervene For Nigerians Trapped In Sudan

• Atiku Lauds Iwuanyanwu’s Election as Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General

• National Assembly Member-Elect Ismaila Yushau Maihanchi Passes Away: A Big Blow to the PDP Family

The commissioning of the hospital was part of the 2023 Oro Day Ceremony of the Oro community, which also included the launch of a N500 million Development Fund. The minister also commissioned another 40-bed multi-purpose hospital in Igbaja in the same local government. These hospitals are aimed at reducing maternal death, infant, and neonatal deaths.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed explained that the hospital is the third of such facilities to be commissioned by the SDGs office in Kwara State. The first hospital, also funded by SDGs, was commissioned last year in Eiyenkorin, Asa local government area of the state, and is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The minister added that the hospital is equipped with a theater, incubators, ventilators, phototherapy machines, patient monitors, children’s beds, examination beds, a 100kva generator, and is furnished and lit with solar street lights.

According to the minister, the government is determined to leave a legacy of quality healthcare delivery through the implementation of Universal Health Coverage, which aims to expand the net for those to be captured under the Health Insurance Program.

He also stated that the Basic Health Care Provision Fund is being operationalized to provide healthcare to poor and indigent Nigerians, stressing that “We will ensure availability of basic minimum package of health services. This will ensure that at least 100,000,000 Nigerians will have health insurance coverage through public and private sources.”

The government is also partnering with the AFREXIM Bank to host the regional center for health excellence in Abuja, and the groundbreaking has been done. The super hospital will be managed by the King’s College Hospital, London. The minister also noted that the government’s response to health emergencies, particularly how the COVID-19 pandemic was contained in the country, has remained unprecedented.

Princess Adejoke Adefulure, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals, commended the efforts of the government to reduce infant mortality in the country through the provision of healthcare delivery services to the public. She added that the government has invested a lot in healthcare delivery in the country, which has positioned the lives of Nigerians on quality healthcare delivery.

FURTHER READING  

• NIDCOM Chair: Evacuation Arrangements Underway For Nigerians Trapped In Sudan

• Ohanaeze Ndigbo Leadership Crisis: Njiko Igbo Forum Rejects New President-General

• Legal Practitioners Call Out Buhari Over Lack Of Transparency In Asset Declaration

The National President of Oro Progressives Union, Professor Bode Bojuwoye, commended the minister for the numerous projects and employment opportunities he facilitated for the community, describing him as a good ambassador. He, however, requested that 50% of the recruitment at the hospital should be reserved for the people and residents of Oro community and its environ.