The Director-General of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), Dr. Betta Edu has mobilised volunteers for the immediate overhaul of the primary health care centre in Ito community.
Dr. Edu who spoke to newsmen on arrival said:
"Ito health centre is one of the facility selected for the 72hrs PHC makeover. We are bent on fixing our weakest link under the primary health care revitalization. We are identifying those facilities that have the worse in the state and L.G.A's. We asked people to send in entries of health facilities in their villages and we pick out the worse to rejuvenate and this facility pictures were sent and in Odukpani LGA, Ito primary health centre was selected."
The DG further stated that over 10,000 people are living in Ibo Ito, Idem Ito, etc, with just one poorly-staffed facility serving them.
She admonished community leaders and residents of Ito to take ownership of the facility and promised to strengthen the workforce of the health centre to make for effective service delivery.
The DG also quipped that the ripple effect of upgrading the facility and strengthening of personnel will be extended beyond the immediate community.
Receiving the team of volunteers to the facility, Mrs. Blessing Ita, who is also a community health worker in Ito health centre, said she had been bitterly saddened by the level of dilapidation at the health centre.
She express gratitude to Governor Ben Ayade, whose clairvoyance has yielded a turnaround for the facility.
She added that the beautification and standardization of any medical facility have psychological effect on the wellbeing of a patient.
Mrs. Ita however lamented the dearth of personnel at the health center only mid-wife in the facility said in the case of emergency she refers her and appealed to the State Government for more health workers in the facility.
Confirming the myriad of traditional birth attendants in the area, Mrs. Ita said there have not been cases of maternal and infant mortality in the area.
She advised those still patronizing the untrained birth attendants to desist forthwith and rather access quality health care services from the facility, notwithstanding their traditional and cultural inclinations.
Responding, the Clan Head of Ito North and South, His Royal Highness Etiyen Edet Okon Ebita said: "The exercise was marvelous, I was amazed at the sight of this beautiful accomplishments."
The royal father gave kudos to the initiator of the project and promised to set up a vigilante group as security to the facility.
Etinyin Ebita, who further pointed out that assessments of health care in the area before now was a major concern, stated that the new facility, if staffed as promised going to be will serve as a veritable conduit for attending to the health care needs of Ito and its neighbouring communities.
Decrying the alarming rate of traditional medicine practice in the area, the Clan Head urged his cabinet members to rise up to the occasion of luring residents of the area to access health care needs at the health facility in order to minimize patronage of quack traditional medicine practitioners.
He commended Governor of Cross River State Prof Ayade and Dr. Beta Edu for bringing such project to his community and pledged allegiance to the Ayade-led administration for bringing such laudable project to Ito.
In another responses the Youth representative Etubom Bassey E. Etim commended the DG for the intervention on the dilapidated facility within short notice, while thanking Governor Ben Ayade for placing premium on the health of the citizenry.
0 comments:
Post a Comment