Oyo State will soon become the Mecca of healthcare services in Nigeria, the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, said on Monday.
Speaking at the flag off a statewide Free Health Mission and the Unveiling of the multi-million dollar medical equipment and consumables at Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital, Yemetu Ibadan, he stated that the state will soon introduce N200 Health Insurance Scheme.
Governor Ajimobi noted that the efforts of the present administration to overhaul the health sector will make the state the Mecca of healthcare services in Nigeria, adding that the availability of new medical equipment, upgrade of the state-owned health institutions to training facilities as well as provision of free healthcare services to the needy throughout the State among others will help in actualizing his vision for the health sector.
According to him, “It is safe to say, Oyo State will soon become the Mecca of healthcare services in Nigeria as we have put a lot of premium on the welfare of the people especially in the health sector. The total overhaul of the State healthcare sector, elevation of health institutions to medical training facilities, Free Health Mission, availability of new equipment and the soon to be established Cardiovascular Screening Center at Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital will help in actualizing the vision we have for the health sector.
“In the next few days, our insurance health scheme will come on board and we will start ‘Walk-to-life’ project among others. With N200 to be paid for this insurance, an individual will have access to free health services in any State health institution across Oyo State,” he said.
Governor Ajimobi advised the people of the State and Nigerians as a whole to constantly visit health centers to check their health status in order to avoid early and untimely death, quoting a Buddhist proverb “to keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we will not be able to keep the mind.”
Sen. Ajimobi gave kudos to the Nigeria Women Association of Georgia, a non -governmental organization based in the United States of America, for their support to the state health sector and the donation of medical equipment and consumables worth 2million dollars.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan said through the State health intervention programs, malaria prevalence in the State has been reduced by 43% while polio has been totally eradicated.
The State health handler stated that the Cardiovascular Screening Center that would soon be sited in Ibadan would cover the six Southwestern States, adding that the popular Adeoyo Medical Hospital would become a medical training institution.
“Since 2011, this administration has treated over one million patients under its free healthcare services program and this flag-off is meant to cover around a million patients throughout the State in commemoration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s 6th year anniversary as Governor. We have the present State administration to thank for the turnaround in the health sector in the State,” Dr Adeduntan said.
The representative of Nigeria Women Association of Georgia (NWAG) and Med-Share Inc. U.S.A at the event, Prof. Femi Ajayi said the organization took it upon itself to donate the medical equipment to the State so as to benefit the underprivileged.
He commended the Oyo State government for coming up with ingenious approach to healthcare services as the world was witnessing economic crisis.
