Health and manpower development in Akwa Ibom: Takeaways from the inter-ministerial briefing (prt 2)

By: Crystabel Usen

As I had promised in the part one of this series on the maiden edition of Akwa Ibom State Government Inter-Ministerial Briefing, all the six ministries that participated in the 2-day event will be featured this sectoral assessments. In this part two, I will be highlighting some takeaways from the briefings by the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for driving the state government’s policies on health, and the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, which primarily plays the dual responsibility of ensuring a smooth workforce and also developing necessary data on the state’s manpower resources and capabilities. Like infrastructure and agriculture which were the focus of the part one of this series, health and manpower development are also tightly connected because only a healthy population can provide efficient manpower.

Since May 2015, it was evident that the health sector was a priority to Governor Udom Emmanuel as one of his first interventions was the rehabilitation of St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua. Established in 1937, the hospital became an eyesore after over 70 years of existence without proper attention in terms of maintenance and rehabilitation. Like many other healthcare facilities in the state, the hospital was dilapidated and lacking in both facilities and manpower. “However, such illustrious history and celebrated tradition is what was starkly compromised by systemic recession and infrastructural decay over the years”, a report on Nations Newspaper stated. “From being a major regional medical hub, St. Luke’s Hospital, diminished in status and facility, to become a shadow of its glorious past. Its functionality in the recent past, was at best, as a primary health centre”.

In his avowed commitment to hit the ground running from day one, Governor Emmanuel visited the hospital for assessment just three days after his swearing-in. The governor, who was accompanied by some key government officials, was moved to tears by the level of rot in the hospital that himself was born. He immediately ordered the rehabilitation of the hospital. The rehabilitation exercise did not only give the hospital an aesthetic face-lift but provided the institution with state-of-the-art equipment and remodeled wards. The Governor reconstructed the Administrative block of the hospital, constructed the male and children wards and also constructed and equipped the gynecology ward, in honour of the renowned Irish Missionary who worked selflessly for the hospital, Dr. Ann Ward. As part of the activities to mark the 28th anniversary of the state creation in September 2015, the governor commissioned the remodelled hospital within his first 100 days in office.

The intervention in St Luke’s Hospital was only a tip of the iceberg as the governor was determined to ensure that at least one state-of-the-art health facility is reached within a driving span of one hour in each of the ten Federal Constituencies of the State. To this end, his administration vigorously embarked on the remodeling, upgrading, and re-equipping of secondary heath institutions across the state for efficiency and accessibility. This was done by upgrading, computerization and digitization of hospitals in the state towards effective healthcare delivery and ease of tracing of medical records of patients At last count, at least seven General Hospitals have benefitted from the rehabilitation rennaisance in the health sector namely: General Hospital, Etinan, General Hospital, Ikot Okoro, General Hospital, Ikono, General Hospital, Ituk Mbang, General Hospital, Iquita, Oron, General Hospital, Awa and Immanuel General Hospital, Eket.

As part of his efforts to ensure that the remodelled hospitals are well-equipped to meet the administration’s vision in the health sector, Governor Emmanuel procured 100 containers of state-of-the-art medical equipment for health institutions across the state, with 50 containers so far delivered. Among the procured state-of-the-art medical equipment include: electrocardiograph 3 Channels, colonoscopy (with halogen light), x-ray film processor, x-ray film viewer, gastroscope, operating theatre light (5-Spot light), operating table and anastasia trolley with ventilators. Others are: monitor, syringe pump, electro surgical units, monopolar-bipolar operating instruments, suction pump, CT Scanners as well as Surgical microscope for the eyes.

As part of his efforts to ensure that the remodelled hospitals are well-equipped to meet the administration’s vision in the health sector, Governor Emmanuel procured 100 containers of state-of-the-art medical equipment for health institutions across the state, with 50 containers so far delivered. Among the procured state-of-the-art medical equipment include: electrocardiograph 3 Channels, colonoscopy (with halogen light), x-ray film processor, x-ray film viewer, gastroscope, operating theatre light (5-Spot light), operating table and anastasia trolley with ventilators. Others are: monitor, syringe pump, electro surgical units, monopolar-bipolar operating instruments, suction pump, CT Scanners as well as Surgical microscope for the eyes.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the governor constructed a 300-bed International Isolation Centre with inbuilt Molecular Virology Laboratory. The Laboratory with a Category 3 PCR Machine was effective in testing of COVID-19 cases, a feat that was hailed by the World Health Organization, WHO and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC. Prior to that, the administration had constructed the Emergency Operations Center, EOC, at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Ikot Ekpene as well as procured the Oxygen Plant. “In addition to his free healthcare policy for children within the age bracket (0-5) years, pregnant women and the aged, Governor Udom Emmanuel has put in place institutional frameworks to coordinate and supervise effective healthcare services in the state, including: the Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the State Hospitals Management Board, HMB and the Ministry of Health, all with seasoned Health Professionals and Administrators at the helm of affairs”, one report reveals.

Evidently, health is of the sectors that has enjoyed the attention of the Udom Emmanuel administration the most and this in turn, has yeilded very impressive results for the state and her people. For instance, the state government’s proactive measures during the coronavirus pandemic was pivotal to the significantly less impact of the pandemic in the state. While responding to questions during the inter-ministerial briefing, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Augustine Umoh said that through the state government’s massive investment in the health sector, healthcare services in the state is very affordable. “The cost of healthcare is very high around the world, but through the state government’s intervention in the sector, the state has tried so much to make healthcare affordable and very accessible to everyone”, Prof Umoh said. “We keep the cost of services as low as possible in Akwa Ibom State and we will even do more this with your help”.

On labour and manpower planning, the driving vision of the state government has been to ensure a cordial relations between workers and employers in the public and private sectors of the state, as well as ensuring that the state has efficient manpower resources. In achieving the former, the Udom Emmanuel administration has been resolute in providing good working conditions for workers in the state while prioritising their welfare and wellbeing. For the latter, the government has not compromised its stance on merit in all her recruitment exercises. These were all attested to by the State Commissioner for Labour and Manpower Planning, Mr Aniefiok Nkom, while responding to questions during the inter-ministerial briefing. He disclosed that the state government has so far trained about 200 youths in ICT and supported them with startup packs. He added that the government in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has trained about 500 youths in ICT development with start-up packs given to them also.

Mr Nkom further dismissed allegations of racketeering in the state government’s recruitments and assured that the Udom Emmanuel’s administration will never compromise its stand on merit. He noted that government has made strategic and dedicated investment in developing the state’s manpower, because the people are the most valuable resource. “With the number of people we have trained and supported to have an economic enterprise, we are conscious of the fact that as these enterprise owners stand on their own, they now contribute to growing the economy of our State”, said. “Our motivation in investing in Labour and Manpower Development is that government investments in this sector can have enormous powers to unlock economic benefits for the people and subsequently for the government”.

The impressive outing by both Ministries during the inter-ministerial briefing was a further proof of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s commitment to the growth and development of the state and his determination to leave the state better than he met it.