By Ihechinyere Chigemeri-Uwom
Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has reiterated the commitment of the state government towards improving the health sector by promoting effective healthcare service delivery.Ikpeazu said this on Monday during the ground breaking ceremony of the Aba Health Village.He said that the Aba Health Village was conceptualised to end the quest for world class healthcare services outside the state.
The governor said the project was important in the area of providing medical training and healthcare services as strategic to the advancement of the health sector.He said that the Aba Health Village would include a School of Nursing and Midwifery, a specialist hospital for mother and child care and non-communicable diseases like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Asthma;Others are a Kidney and Heart Centre, world class medical suites for visiting medical doctors, an executive suite that will have facilities like a five-star hotel and an ultra modern laboratory.“We are here to do the foundation laying of the Kidney and Heart Center as well as doctors’ suites; and these projects will continue simultaneously with the ongoing specialist hospital.“
I expect to return here in exactly five months to commission these projects.”The governor said the state government spent N1 billion to procure medical equipment for the project and added that the resources needed for the execution of the project had been provided.
Ikpeazu added that plans were underway to build an Ultra Modern Diagnostic Laboratory in Isiukwuato Local Government Area(LGA) that would serve the hospitals in Abia North senatorial district.Also speaking, Dr Joe Osuji, the Commissioner for Health, said that the Aba Health Village was part of the efforts made by the government to transform the health sector and provide word class healthcare services to the people of Abia
.Osuji said that the decision to build Aba Health Village in the General Hospital was informed by the resolve to strategically position the health facility in a location that could be easily accessed by residents and visitors.He said that it was expected that this project would serve as a veritable tool in discouraging the people of Abia from embarking on medical tourism to health facilities outside Abia and Nigeria.
Earlier, Dr Christopher Ahuruka, the Chief Executive Officer of Hospital Management Board(HMB), described the project as a welcome development.Ahuruka commended the state government for initiating the project, and added that the project would give a new lease of life to the health sector.(NAN)
