Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has said that Abia state will support the interventions of the federal government in the health sector geared towards ameliorating the sufferings of the people.
The Governor stated this in Umuahia when he received in audience the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole who paid him a courtesy visit.
He said that no state can do it alone except it keys into what the federal government is doing.
Dr Ikpeazu commended the Minister for his interventions in the healthcare system of the country and appreciated him for taking things that concern Abia state seriously.
The Governor maintained that Abia state places a lot of premium on the health of its citizenry and has plans to establish a Specialist Hospital for under 5 and their mothers, and has a free medicare programme for the elderly in the state geared towards elongating lives among other programmes.
He said that the state will in the next few weeks make available to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia N100 m to support the kidney transplant programme and expressed the hope that the programme will promote medical tourism.
He further said that it plans to introduce a new policy in the state where hospitals in the rural areas will be manned by qualified medical personnels who are indigenes of the area.
Earlier, the Minister of Health, Prof Adewole who was in the state to commission the TB reference laboratory at Amachara Specialist Hospital and the Pharmaceutical mega mall market to centralize drug distribution as well as to visit the FMC, Umuahia thanked the Governor for keeping the flag flying, stressing that there is a lot to gain from partnership between the state and the federal government.
According to him,his ministry plans to upgrade the kidney transplant of the centre as a way of reducing medical tourism.
The Governor later commissioned the TB reference laboratory at Amachara specialist hospital in company of the Minister of Health.
Abiakam Gloria Ifeyinwa
FIC, Umuahia,Abia State
