Rehabilitated health centre to serve over 10,000 C/Riverians, Nigerians… #72HrsMakeOver Read details here

Nyok|16 October 2018

Once dilapidated health post in Ito, Odukpani in Cross River has been upgraded, rehabilitated and better equipped to serve over 10,000 Nigerians resident and indigenous to Cross River NEGROIDHAVEN has confirmed.

This was made possible between Friday 12 and Sunday 14 October via the ongoing 72 hours make over revitilisation campaign (#72HrsMakeOver) organised by the Cross River State Government (CRSG) under the auspices of State Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

According to the Director General of the Agency, Dr Betta Edu, the state government is on a mission of fixing worst primary health centre in each of the 18 local government areas of the state. She disclosed that the Health post, Ito is the first of such intervention. She encouraged the indigenes and residents of Ito to take ownership of the rehabilitated property and protect it.

Her words, ‘This is our first health facility that was selected for the 72 hours PHC makeover. Like we said from the onset, we are trying to fix our weakest link, under the primary healthcare revitalization in Cross River State. So, we are identifying those facilities that are the worst state in every local government, one in each local government.

‘We asked people to send their entries: go to your village, look at your facility, is it the worst in your LGA, if it is the worst, send in pictures and everything about it; So, somebody sent this facility in. As part of the facilities which they want to fix. In all honesty, I have never been here, until I saw those pictures, and then, when we compared it with other pictures that came in from Odukpani, this was the worst. So, we decided we were going to upgrade it to be able to deliver better services to the people in this community.

‘We came here for an assessment, and during the assessment, we found out that there is a large population of over 10,000 people living in this community. There’s Ibo Ito, Edem Ito, Ito Central, it is just a range from that river up to Arochukwu, and within that range there is no primary health centre, except this one; so, from the water up until Abia State, this is the only health Centre serving them,

‘Over 10, 000 persons were underserved. So we decided we were going to put our focus on this primary health center, see how we can upgrade it, fix the roof which was leaking, paint it, tile it, get hospital beds and mattresses and pillows, get hospital chairs for outpatients, tables and other equipment which they want.’

Commenting on the development, the traditional ruler of the community, His Royal Highness Etinyin Edet Okon Eyet Ebita, the Clan head of Ito South commended the state government for fixing the abandoned property. He described the initiative as a fine job and pledged to secure it while calling on the state government to engage the services of more paramedical staff.

While talking to our correspondent Ebita said, ‘It’s marvelous, in fact, I never had thought it was going to be this way. The way it was presented… not until I came to see it for myself, I saw that a fine job had been done. Kudos to whoever had brought this idea of coming to fix this facility.

‘I have mentioned categorically, that we are going to take care of this property, it is our property. When they brought in a senior midwife, since then, I see that the place is booming, at least, depicting what the place should be. I want the government to send in staff, the community is large with a greater number of women, children, we need a good number of staff here to take care of women and children.

Elder Daniel Eyibio the former youth leader of the community and the supervisor of the project in the community disclosed that he has observed good changes in the upgradef Centre.

His words, ‘For sometime, I notice some good changes in this place, this Centre for some months ago was too dilapidated, too poor, nothing to write home about, but, within a short space of time, with the assistance of the government coming to the place, the roof, floor, window, door, wall, everything is being changed.’

The only medical officer working in the facility, Mrs Blessing Ntiero Ita, a community health staff has confessed that she is impressed and encouraged by the face-lift. She said, ‘When they posted me down here…in fact, I was crying, I said I can’t stay here, I told them I can never come to this place, that I don’t want to come here, they should send me back to where I came from, they said I should come that things was going to work out, initially I did not want to come, because the place was so bad, it was terrible, in fact, it was very terrible. Since I started working, it is nice, patience have been coming, God really made it for the government to remember this facility,’

Continuing, she added that ‘as long as the facility is OK, is nice, beautiful, when a patient comes in, and immediately see how the centre is beautiful, they are healed.

‘I am asking the government to help, employ more health workers so that in a facility we have three to five health workers in the facility.’

The #72HrsMakeOver aims at actualising the Universal Health Coverage agenda and Reduce Maternal Mortality and deaths below 5 years.

Present at the residence of the royal father to receive the contingent of volunteers from the #72HrsMakeOver were His Royal Highness Chief E. O. E. Ebita Clan head of Ito, Chief O. O. Uba, Chief A. E. Otor, Chief Ibok E. Asuquo, Chief A. E. Ebita, Chief A. U. Udofia, Chief Bassey O. Etim, and Elder Daniel Eyibio.

Nyok
Blogger-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NegroidHaven