Otti inaugurates 100-bed hospital in Abia, vows to curtail medical tourism

Alex Otti, governor of Abia, on Wednesday, inaugurated a multipurpose hospital in the state.

The 100-bed Mother and Child Centre situated in Ugwunabo, Abia state, was built by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs).

The governor commended President Bola Tinubu for sighting the project in the state.

Otti promised to judiciously use the facility as the state is planning to establish a medical village that will put an end to people travelling out for medical issues.

The governor commended Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, senior special assistant to the president on sustainable development goals, for her efforts in achieving SDGs.

Orelope-Adefulire thanked Tinubu for his leadership and commitment to working closely with sub-national governments to deliver key interventions and fast-track the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria.

“I would like to most sincerely thank Governor Otti for his unwavering commitment to the socio-economic transformation of Abia state and our collective desire to achieve the SDGs in Nigeria,” she said.

According to her, the SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, safeguard the planet and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity by the year 2030.

Orelope-Adefulire stated that it is pertinent to note that the SDGs cannot be achieved with standalone policies and programmes.

“They must be carefully integrated into our medium and long-term national and sub-national development policies and plans. It is in recognition of this that we are supporting the 36 states and the FCT on SDG-Based Development Planning,” she said.

“In line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, we are committed to prioritizing key interventions with multiplier effects on multi-dimensional poverty, such as basic healthcare, vocational skills development and education provisioning. With COVID-19 pandemic challenging our healthcare system, strategic interventions, such as the Mother and Child Centre, have become imperative.”

Orelope-Adefulire said the 100-bed Mother and Child Centre (MCC) is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

“They include among others – two operating theatres, recovery rooms, private and general wards, scanning room, consultation rooms and laboratory. Others include ultra-scan machine, vacuum extractor delivery set and an emergency cart with full compliments. The MCC is directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘Quality Health and Well-being for all’, as well as other cross-cutting SDGs,” she said.

“OSSAP-SDGs has worked tirelessly to construct and furnish this state-of-the-art facility as a strategic tool for healthcare service provisioning in the state. It is therefore expected that the state and local governments will make judicious use of the facilities in a sustainable way for the benefit of our mothers and children.

“Let me conclude by encouraging us to make this Mother and Child Centre a beacon of hope and a testament to our collective dedication to building healthier and more prosperous communities. May it serve as a reminder that by investing in maternal and child health, we invest in the very foundation of our society’s well-being. Together, let us continue to strive for excellence in healthcare delivery and create a future where every mother and child can thrive.

“I would like reaffirm our commitment to the achievement of the SDGs by the year 2030. We will continue to prioritize interventions with potential impact on the lives of the poor and vulnerable members of our society so that no ‘Nigerian is left behind’.”

The OSSAP-SDGs also organised a sensitisation and advocacy programme for major stakeholders in the state on the acceleration of SDGs, describing this period as a “decade of action”.