BY VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA – ANAMBRA State Government Monday distributed hospital and medical equipment worth over N1 billion to 105 health facilities in the state, as part of measures to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, by 2015.

Details showed that 55 of the beneficiaries were government-owned health institutions; 25 are owned by Catholic Church, and the remaining 25, by Anglican Church.

At the ceremony in Awka, Governor Peter Obi also announced that 10 hostel blocks, each at a cost of N60 million, would be built in selected missionary hospitals, namely, Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala and Water Side Hospital, Onitsha.

He also announced a donation of another N120 million to Iyi Enu Hospital, N100 million to Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha, and N100 million to Adazi Hospital, to enable them secure accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria. He said the money would be given to the missionaries directly.

Obi added that while the hospitals were free to hire their contractors, government would merely supervise the projects to ensure their completion on schedule.

Obi said: “We are worried about our health system being in tartars, with non committed health workers. It is unfortunate that we allowed our health institutions to collapse only for our people to be seeking for health services in India and other countries.

“That is why we want the missionaries to help us change the situation for the better and we hope that they will execute the projects fast. It the view of this administration that it is better to support those who have the capability to put things right as it is done in other parts of the world.”

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, who is also the chairman of MDG Implementation Committee in the state, Professor Chinyere Okunna, said the event of yesterday signaled the winding down of the 2009 MDG activities.

She explained that the distribution of the medical equipment to the health institutions symbolized the growing partnership between government and the church.

She commended the steadfastness of the state government in meeting the requirements of the donor agencies which, she noted, had developed great confidence in the present administration in the state.

She urged the beneficiaries to take full ownership of the facilities in their areas, adding that the era of seeing public projects as government property was over.