The Abia State Government has commissioned and formally taken over a Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), 30 Housing Units for indigent persons and a Church Hall donated by the Unubiko Foundation to communities in Arochukwu Local Government Area of the State.
The projects, donated by the Founder of the Foundation, Chief James Ume (popularly known as Ike Abam), are located in Ndi Okereke Abam and Idima Abam Communities.
Speaking during the commissioning and handover ceremony, Governor Alex Otti, said the projects aligns with his administration’s development agenda and commitment to strengthening public-private partnerships for sustainable growth.
Governor Otti who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Kenneth Kalu, commended the donor for complementing government efforts in Healthcare delivery and social welfare.
“This is what the government is looking for, you know, partnership, public-private partnership, all geared towards making society better”, Governor Otti said.
He urged beneficiaries of the facilities, particularly beneficiaries of the 30 Housing Units, to take full ownership and ensure proper maintenance.
“The Community who are also largely the beneficiaries should take real possession and maintain those facilities.
“It’s their own. So, the era of treating what is considered government property with levity is gone.
“People should take care of them, protect them, make sure they are well maintained at all times, the Community should own those assets because they are assets to the Communities,” the Governor added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Uche, commended the quality and standard of the newly inaugurated PHC, noting that facility is built to meet modern healthcare needs.
“Ndị Okereke Primary Healthcare Centre, which was conceptualised and built by Unubiko Foundation, is well built and equipped with the same standard as Abia Primary Healthcare Centres”, Prof Uche said.
Prof. Uche said that the centre was equipped with multi-parameter monitors, oxygen delivery systems, modern wards and an ultramodern laboratory.
The Commissioner listed other facilities at the centre to include “multi-parameter monitors, point-of-care ultrasound, modern delivery rooms, male and female wards, centrifuge, microscope, incubators, a well-equipped pharmacy, family planning clinic and oxygen delivery systems.”
He explained that the centre was among five PHCs identified for retrofitting in Abam under Project Ekwueme, the State Government’s initiative aimed at revitalising Primary Healthcare facilities.
He added that the facility had already been functionalised and opened for service delivery, and calling on well-meaning individuals to support grassroots enrolment into the informal sector Health Insurance Scheme.
According to him, achieving health equity and universal health coverage “is not the responsibility of government alone”.
In his speech earlier, the Founder of the Unubiko Foundation, Chief James Ume said he initiated the projects as part of efforts to improve the living standards of his people and support the development agenda of the Governor Otti led administration.
Chief Ume commended the Governor for infrastructural projects across the State, particularly the Abam–Arochukwu Road, and called on residents to continue supporting the government to ensure the delivery of democratic dividends.
Also speaking, the Social Mobilisation Officer of the Arochukwu Health Authority, Mrs Jane Kalu-Otum, expressed delight over the inauguration of the fully equipped health facility, noting that it would enhance service delivery and improve health-seeking behaviour.
She urged women of childbearing age to stop patronising traditional birth attendants and make use of the facility, stressing that improved utilisation would help government gather accurate health data for planning.
Community members who spoke to National Ambassador in separate interviews described the projects as a welcome development that would improve access to quality Healthcare, reduce hardship and lower the cost of medical services.
A nursing mother, Mrs Ifeoma Jonah, said the PHC would ease access to Healthcare, noting that she previously travelled to a neighbouring community for childbirth.
She added that delivery services at the new facility were free and expressed gratitude to the donor for the intervention.
Also, a farmer, Mrs Lucy Andrew, commended the initiative, saying it would reduce the hardship faced by residents in accessing Healthcare, and appealed to other affluent indigenes to emulate the gesture.
