By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The Benue State Government has flagged off the revitalization of 98 Primary Healthcare Centres, PHCs, under the Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services, IMPACT, Project Benue state, to improve healthcare service delivery in communities across the state.

Performing the exercise at Akpegede PHC,  Otukpo Local Government Area, LGA, the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr. Sam Ode noted the utmost desire of Governor Hyacinth Alia to ensure that every Benue indigene and and residents enjoy the best healthcare service delivery wherever they find themselves in the state.

He said: “That is why we are embarking on the rehabilitation, upgrade and revitalisation of the 98 PHCs across the state. And aside te PHCs the government is doing alot in the health sector. The Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, in Makurdi, is being transformed to a world class health facility.

“And plans are on to construct a new General Hospital in Otukpo to replace the former facility that was donated to the Federal University of Health Sciences Otukpo. So the Governor Alia-led administration is doing alot in the health sector to ensure that the health needs of the people get priority attention.”

Earlier, the Commissioner for Health and Human Service, Dr Yanmar Ortese, who noted the importance of PHCs in the health service delivery said the IMPACT Project intervention “is to ensure that PHC facilities are put in order thereby moving us from level one to level two.

“This level two will see the revitalization of the PHCs, expand them and provide solar powered electricity, provide borehole, build accommodation facility for staff to ensure that even late at night there would be a personnel to attend to a patient. And any pregnant woman who comes here for delivery will do so and come out alive with her baby. We indeed appreciate IMPACT for this intervention.”

The Executive Secretary of the BSPHCB, Mrs. Grace Wende who lauded Governor Alia for making the intervention possible said “today is indeed unique in the life of BSPHCB and PHCs. With this groundbreaking performed, in the next 14 weeks we will have new PHCs across the state.”

Mrs Wende urged the communities where the PHCs are located to protect them as their own “because it belongs to you and it will serve you for better healthcare service delivery in your communities.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Denen Aondoakaa assured that his office would ceaselessly continue to support the Benue State Primary Healthcare Board, BSPHCB in everyway possible to ensure top-notch healthcare delivery in the rural communities.

The State Coordinator of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA, Mr. Ishola Babatunde commended the state government for giving priority attention to healthcare services in the state noting that the revitalization of PHCs in the state would ensure better healthcare services in the communities.

The World Health Organization, WHO, State Coordinator, Dr. Abdulkarim Mohammed represented by Susan Ikwebe, assured that the global organisation would continue to give its technical support in healthcare service delivery and urged the people to always visit the facility for their health needs.

The traditional ruler of Otukpo, the Och’Otukpo Odu, Chief John Eimonye, represented by Chief Ben Onyelokwu  expressed gratitude to the government for the intervention assuring that the people would provide the needed security to ensure that work at the facilities went uninterrupted.

On his part, the Otukpo Local Government Council Chairman, Mr Maxwell Ogiri, represented by the Councillor Secretary, Simon Enyi, lauded Governor Alia for making the project a reality and urged the people to ensure that work on the PHCs went without hitches.

The highpoint of the event was the presentation of cheque and handover of the project site to the contractor by the Deputy Governor who warned him to stick to the project specifications and the delivery time.