HEALTH SECTOR IMPROVEMENT:ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT AFFIRMS TREMENDOUS CHANGES 
The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti OFR says his administration has aligned with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the health sector to achieve improved access to quality healthcare delivery in the state.
Governor Otti stated this, Monday, when he received the Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim and her team who were in Abia on an advocacy visit.
The Governor highlighted the shared objectives between Abia and the Federal Government especially in the area of health and emphasized a mutual drive towards a common purpose despite political differences.
“Giving all the things you reeled out about the Presidents renewed hope agenda with specific reference to health, I didn’t think I will be exaggerating if i say that even if we’re not in the same party, we are in the same pedestal. We are driving towards the same purpose.
“We already keyed in on this renewed hope agenda of the Federal government. Because listening to you, all the areas that the Federal government is interested in, are also the areas we are interested in.
“When we came in ( to government) we were very deliberate about the things we were going to do.”
Governor Otti who recounted the deliberate steps taken by his administration upon assumption of offices, said his government has addressed critical healthcare challenges in Abia State which include; a robust budget for the healthcare delivery system, restoration of accreditation for the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, which had been in a state of disrepair during the past government as well as clearing salary arrears of health workers.
The Governor outlined ongoing initiatives by the his government to include the retrofitting of General Hospitals and Primary Healthcare Centers across the state, establishment of a Medical Village, which would serve as a comprehensive healthcare hub to reverse medical tourism and provide top-notch medical services within Abia State.
He underscored the significance of addressing Maternal and cChild Mortality rates, noting that his government is commited to improving healthcare needs of Abia people.
“We are not where we want to be but we definitely have moved from where we met the state. Where we are now is retrofitting the primary health care centers and from our last count, they were about 948 of them.
“Luckily we had a price that we won from the Governor’s forum, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; “The leadership Challenge”, and the money from there, we have deployed first of all to the Primary Health care Centers and of course we do have a robust budget for the healthcare delivery system in Abia state.
“In the last eleven months, we have had to intervene at different levels just to ensure that that people have better opportunities to live when they are challenged and we will continue to push the bars in those areas so that we can move our people from homelessness”, Governor Otti stated.
He affirmed his administration’s readiness to collaborate with the Federal Government adding that the state would support all the agenda of the Federal government initiatives aimed at uplifting citizens and driving socio-economic development.
Earlier in her speech, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim, called for partnership between Abia and the Federal Government to accelerate Health Sector Transformation initiatives outlined in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Dr. Ibrahim while calling for acceleration of the reduction of maternal and child mortality, said the Federal government would support the state under the Presidential Acceleration Plan for Reduction of Maternal Death as well as other areas including capacity building, resources and advocacy.
She commended Governor Otti for his proactive measures, including declaring a state of emergency in the health sector and increasing health allocations by 15 percent as well as the swift resolution of salary disputes, noting that such actions have significantly alleviated challenges within the state’s healthcare system.
