BY GODWIN IJEDIOGOR
THE Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme, on Friday, January 5, said the Governor Sheriff Oborevwori administration was working towards making the state a hub for medical tourism in the West Africa and beyond.
Onojaeme, who stated this in a statement in Asaba, added that the Oborevwori was consolidating on the gains of the past administrations in taking health care delivery to the next level in the state, as the governor places premium on the health of Deltans, assuring that the state government would continue to prioritise quality health care services in line with world standard health care practices.
He commended staff of the ministry for their contributions to the development of health infrastructure in the state, urging them to brace up for the task ahead this year.
“There is much work to be done in the health sector this year and I am here to pilot the team to action, so that we can continue delivering the M.O.R.E agenda, with respect to health care services through this ministry.
“The governor is very concerned about improving the quality of health care delivery to Deltans and will stop at nothing to provide premium health facilities and services to Deltans.
“The governor has consistently reiterated that His M.O.R.E. Agenda is not a political slogan, but a social contract with Deltans, to listen and do MORE.
“In his well articulated MORE Agenda, the governor has promised to give special attention to the health sector, introduce realistic reforms, commence facility and equipment upgrade and improve the human capital resources to handle the prevailing health challenges Deltans are faced with, and this is reflected in the 2024 “Budget of Hope and optimism,” he stated.
Onojaeme added: “In line with his vision of putting the economy of the state on the path of sustainable growth for this year, he intends to build more modern health facilities to support existing ones, as well as upgrade the existing facilities to meet up to the demands of present day health challenges.
“We are also going to engage in recruitment exercise to inject more health workers into the system to meet the rising demands of health care needs in the state.
“To ensure that there is uninterrupted flow in our service delivery, we are entering a long-term maintenance MOU with the equipment manufacturers to keep the machines up and running 24 hours. This will build the confidence of Deltans to rely on Delta state health care services in the state.”
The commissioner said the ministry’s implementation plan would ensure that health care service delivery gets to every part of the state, including the hard-to-reach rural and riverine communities, by providing incentives for health workers assigned to those health facilities in the interior.
He said in addition to upgrading existing facilities to enable them handle the challenges of health care delivery, his ministry would employ every strategy available to us to ensure that the MORE Agenda, under the ministry ,gets to all Deltans, regardless of their location and political affiliation in the state.
Onojaeme commended the efforts of the state epidemiological team in reducing the scourge of communicable diseases, promising to further strengthen them, adding: “The ministry intends placing focus on attaining the global targets for non-communicable diseases (NCD), while strengthening the gains that has been achieved on communicable diseases. In his remarks, he noted that the ministry will be placing a lot of focus on NCD especially cardiovascular and renal diseases.”
Noting that persons suffering from renal failure spend a fortune on dialysis and treatment outside the state, with about 75 per cent of them earning less than N100,000 monthly, yet spending about N1million monthly on dialysis, with renal transplant costing over 20 times that amount, making the treatment unaffordable, unavailable and beyond the reach of Deltans, he said the government would intervene to ameliorate the situation.
“The state government will explore all available options in ensuring that this trajectory is reversed through provision of quality, sustainable, innovative reusable technology and affordable renal replacement services; with special emphasis on provision of round the clock dialysis services and a reduction in the current price in all senatorial districts of the state,” the commissioner said:
