Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, on Thursday, said the healthcare and well-being of residents of Anambra state irrespective of their tribe, ethnicity and religious affiliations, remain the topmost priorities of his administration.
Soludo, disclosed this while officially commissioning a private health facility, Dame Irene Memorial Hospital, Oraifite, in Ekwusigo local government area of the state.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the hospital, built by Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation in partnership with VOOM Foundation, USA, was to further improve healthcare delivery in the Oraifite community, the State and Nigeria as a whole.
Speaking during the ceremony, the governor, represented by his Deputy, Mr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, said that the health and wellbeing of the people of Anambra state would remain one of the topmost priorities of his government.
He said that the main thrust of his administration is to ensure good healthcare facilities for the indigenes and non-indigenes alike, part of which Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation in collaboration with VOOM Foundation USA, has humanly ventured into because of their passion to alleviate the healthcare situation of the underprivileged Nigerians.
According to the governor, a healthy nation is a wealthy one and against that backdrop, his government was committed to ensuring that public health facilities in the state were adequately catered for.
He congratulated the people of Ekwusigo local government on the establishment of the hospital, saying that he was particularly happy that it would aid the government’s resolve to minimise the stress of rural dwellers leaving for urban areas for medical attention amidst insecurity.
The governor pledged his support for the hospital with manpower and adequate security in and around the facility.
In his welcome address, the Founder and Chairman of Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa said the Dame Irene Memorial Hospital was a demonstration of his service to humanity and giving back to society.
According to him, “It would be better to affect and touch lives of people through people-oriented positive interventions in areas of societal needs, than amassing wealth in aggrandisement which was all vanity.
“This will also arrest the syndrome of patients patronising quack doctors as a result of lack of money to access proper diagnosis and treatment.”
Okwuosa, who mortalised the hospital after his late mother, said, “In the rural areas, a sick person may refuse to go to the hospital because of money he/she cannot afford. We have taken cognizance of the high rate of health charges in most private hospitals in Nigeria. So, this will serve as an alternative. Here we are giving an opportunity to every Nigerian; the Yorubas, Igbos, Hausa and other tribes in the country, irrespective of religion and language, to access quality health services without restraint.
“Our nurses and doctors are under instruction not to reject any patient on account of money but to save life first.”
He further disclosed that in full operation, the Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital will create more than 100 full-time paid jobs, support over 500 businesses and families and provide healthcare to an estimated 3,000 plus patients yearly.
Representatives of VOOM Foundation, Government functionaries, traditional rulers, including Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, the host community Monarch, Igwe Daniel Odorji, Clergies and people from all walks of life and indigenes of Ekwusigo Local Government area, graced the humanitarian event.
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Anambra residents’ health and well-being remain priorities of my govt ― Soludo
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Anambra residents’ health and well-being remain priorities of my govt ― Soludo
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