Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II on Thursday charged the striking resident doctors to call off their strike in the interest of other Nigerians.
The Royal father who made the charge at the inauguration of South-West Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care delivery by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), also appealed to the Federal Government to give a listening ear to the plights of the resident doctors and respond promptly to their demands.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, however, assured that the Federal government would have a meeting with the striking doctors on Friday to ensure the strike ends.
The minister who stated that the strike has not helped the growth of the country in the health sector and in other areas said he had once appealed to the striking doctors to call off the strike especially during this period that the country and the entire world are experiencing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the programme, Dr Osagie hinted that the Federal Government, in no distance time, would establish one model primary health care centre in every state and the locations would be determined in all those states through the royal fathers.
He explained that the ones to be established would be professionally designed with staff quarters, solar power, borehole for water supply, perimeter fencing and Keke ambulance.
According to him, “this will be a model for each state to see what we want the primary healthcare to look like.
“I hereby appeal to the traditional rulers by virtue of their closeness and accessibility to the grassroots to assist in propagating the desires of the Federal Government to make healthcare delivery available to the masses in their localities.”
In his response, the Ooni Of Ife appreciated the Federal Government for the inauguration of the South-West Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care delivery by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
He stressed that “on behalf of all the traditional rulers of this country particularly from South West, as the Co-Chairman of National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, myself and eminent Sultan of Sokoto who are both Co-Chairmen of the council, want to say thank you once again for all the good things you do and thank you for inaugurating South West Traditional Rulers leaders committee of primary health care today, it has turned down the history of Southern Nigeria that such a powerful movement will continue to reenforced.
Also speaking, the World Health Organisation representative, Kazadi Walter Mulombo, said, “we are making history today with the inauguration of the South-West Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care Delivery because it is in line and the right direction.
“The role of traditional rulers in the eradication of diseases such as polio and others is very key. Traditional leaders have a unique role to play in the society. This is laudable to improve the delivery of primary health care across the country.”
In his own contributions, the state governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, commended the Ministry of Health for incorporating traditional rulers in primary health care delivery.
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Health, Pharmacist Siji Olamiju, Oyetola, assured his administration commitment to primary health care programme in the state.
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