Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara says his administration has made significant strides in the health sector in the past two and a half years.
This is as he congratulated the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ukalikpe Napoleon and Loolo Bulabari Henrietta, for their victory in last Saturday’s bye -election, which held in two constituencies in the state.
Fubara, who spoke at Government House, Port Harcourt, listed some of his notable achievements to include the revamping of health facilities, the establishment of the health insurance scheme and the employment of over 2,000health workers to boost the manpower and efficiency of the sector.
The governor further disclosed that the administration has revived and expanded several abandoned health facilities, including the Zonal Hospitals in Bori, Omoku, Ahoada, and Degema.
The Ahoada Zonal Hospital, he explained, is a 105-bed secondary facility that has capacity to cater for the health needs of the people in its catchment area.
In addition to the Zonal Hospitals, Fubara stated that his administration has also paid very close attention to the
Primary Healthcare Centres across the state to ensure that citizens of Rivers State, especially those in the rural areas, have easy access to healthcare within their communities.
According to him, the administration approved the remodeling of 153 primary healthcare centres across the state to ensure their functionality.
“As an administration, we are very passionate about the health of every citizen and resident of Rivers State. When we realised that many people have been under stress as a result of economic hardship, we decided to introduce mental health services at the primary healthcare level.
“We are not just catering for those down with the common diseases such as malaria fever, we want to ensure that our people get the right attention to their mental health at the right time.
“At the tertiary level, we have also revamped the Intensive Care Unit of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital and provided it with modern equipment, including monitors, ventilators, and scanners. Most of these innovations are massive and unprecedented,” Fubara said.
On staff welfare, Governor Fubara also disclosed that he approved promotions for over 400 staff of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital and recruited an additional 500 staff.
The governor also said that the number of scholarships for indigenes of Rivers State studying at the PAMO University of Medical Sciences has increased been from one hundred (100 ) to 150 under his watch.
Meanwhile, Fubara has congratulated Ukalikpe and Bulabari on their victory during the by-election for Ahoada-East Constituency 2 and Khana Constituency 2 in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In his reaction to the outcome of the election, Fubara described the victory of the two candidates of the APC in the election as “well deserved given their popularity in their respective constituencies.”
The governor said: ” It is the beauty of democracy. When the people believe in your capacity, they will give you their votes. I look forward to working with them and their colleagues in the State House of Assembly.”
He applauded the people of the two constituencies for the peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves, before during and after the elections.
