FG commits to assist 36 states without bias
News & Trends •
he said abia had blazed the trail in the utilisation of global system of mobile telecommunication gsm in the delivery of quality healthcare to the people of the state1 vice president yemi osinbajo has said government would continue to assist the 36 states irrespective of their party affiliation and also commit to the peoples welfare especially the poor and vulnerable1 osinbajo made the commitment on thursday in umuahia at the inauguration of the states tele-health initiative dial-a-doctor which he described as commendable effort in the healthcare delivery system in the state1 at the inauguration of the national economic council nec in 2015 the president publicly declared that our own nec will assist every state because poverty in our nation is no respecter of ethnic group religion or party affiliation1 the vice president said that in line with the decision the federal government had so far supported states without discrimination along party lines to the tune of n1.91 trillion1 today we are feeding 7.9million children in our own school feeding programme in 22 states1 we have employed over 200 000 graduates in our n-power scheme and 300000 more awaiting funding1 we are giving loans to over 300 000 traders and we are heading for a million traders and artisans1 we are giving 5000 monthly to 300000 of the poorest families in all the states of nigeria without discrimination along party lines osinbajo said1 he also spoke on the federal governments school feeding programme saying that 125684 pupils in 724 schools in abia were being fed with no fewer than 2000 cooks handling the contract1 this is one state where there is collaboration between the state government and the federal government in the school feeding programme1 the federal government is feeding classes one to three and the state government is feeding classes four to six1 this is exactly the way the federal government designed it to be he said1 osinbajo further said that the federal government had given out loans to over 7500 small businesses in the state1 in the healthcare sector we have the save-one-million lives programme which has made available 1.5 million to each state to improve the quality of basic healthcare especially to women and children he said1 on the tele-health initiative he said that it has become expedient for nigeria to embrace technology to close the healthcare gap between the urban and rural areas1 he said the gesture was a clear departure from the primordial practice where past administrations at the centre limited their assistance to states ruled by the party at the centre1 this is an especially exciting project because it is leveraging on available technology in this case the mobile phone to deliver affordable healthcare to the people1 osinbajo said that available records showed that abia had about 1.5 million mobile phones1 according to him the state has taken the lead in utilising the potential that mobile phone has as a means for delivering healthcare for the people1 i am told that citizens can through a dedicated telephone line and affordable prepaid cards access medical care through a state-wide network of doctors and communicate1 the initiative would cut the time spent travelling to see a doctor or waiting in line to see a doctor in a healthcare facility1 it will make abia stand out in the healthcare delivery as a people-centred state that is open to life-changing innovation1 this is a very commendable initiative osinbajo said1 he however said that the success of the programme would depend on the willingness of stakeholders to take on feedback and make the adjustments necessary to meet the evolving needs of the target beneficiaries1 according to the vice president this initiative would be helpful to the state and other states that would want to copy it1 he assured abia government of the unwavering commitment of the federal government to continue to partner and collaborate on any programmes designed to better the lives of the people1 in his speech gov. okezie ikpeazu described the programme as a dream come true saying the initiative is the future of healthcare delivery in nigeria and africa1 ikpeazu said that the state government would leverage on the programme not only to improve life expectancy in abia but surpass the average national life expectancy1 in a goodwill message the minister of health prof. isaac adewole commended the state government for the initiative1 adewole who was represented by the medical director federal medical centre umuahia dr. chuku abali said that the programme had the potential to make healthcare accessible to millions of abia residents if properly harnessed1 the commissioner for health dr. john ahukanna said that the programme would make it possible for people to dial a dedicated gsm number and get medical attention from a doctor in the comfort of their homes. nan1