Abia State Governor Alex Otti said his administration would offset the medical bills of 30 citizens in need of surgery
By Jeffrey Agbo
Abia State Government has offered to foot the medical expenses of 30 residents in urgent need of surgery for various ailments.
This comes as the government has just concluded a six-month long free medical treatment to residents across the state.
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, made the commitment for government to pick up the bills, following an appeal by a visiting Bulgarian non-governmental organisation, Revive, which was on a medical outreach to the state.
The Revive medical team, led by a Nigerian of Abia origin, Smart Oriaku, visited the governor on Friday at the end of their 13-day medical outreach, to thank him for the support they received from the government and the people of the state while conducting their activities, which included consultations, diagnosis, laboratory tests and scans, prescriptions, surgery, among others.
Governor Otti told the visitors, among whom were nurses, doctors, surgeons and other support medical professionals, that his administration was committed to ensuring the comprehensive overhaul of the healthcare facilities in the state, including building new ones, in order to improve the overall well-being of the citizens.
The governor said his administration takes healthcare delivery seriously, hence the focus on renovating and retrofitting the health outfits as well as the prompt measures taken to ensure the restoration of accreditation for the Abia State University’s medical school and Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba. Both the university and the teaching hospital lost accreditation over two years ago.
According to the governor, who disclosed that government is currently rehabilitating about 15 general hospitals across the state, his adminstration is still pushing ahead with plan to establish a ‘Medical Village’, which he said would attract medical tourists to Abia and reverse the trend of people travelling to countries like India for their medical needs.
Otti commended the efforts of the visiting medical team, and particularly Mr. Oriaku, for single-handedly bringing the Revive team to Abia.
“I’m pleased to receive you and commend you for your labour of love. It is interesting that a single individual can do this. If all of us who have been blessed in one way or the other do what you’re doing, I’m sure this place would be a better place for everyone,” the governor observed.
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In an address earlier, leader of the team, Oriaku, said that the medical mission was solely sponsored by his family, the Late Rev. David Oriaku family of Okaiuga Nkwoegwu, Umuahia North LGA, in the spirit of giving back to the society.
Oriaku said that the team, within 13 days, performed over 700 consultations, conducted over 60 successful surgeries, ranging from Goiter, Hernia among others, and had kept check on patients to ensure there were no complications.
He said that all laboratory tests and scans, from CT Scan, Echography and other laboratory tests as recommended by the surgical team were paid for by his family. Also, the medical bills of all women, who gave birth at the Okaiuga Nkwoegwu Health Centre, venue of the consultation, were paid in addition to N10,000 gift to the new mothers.
Oriaku informed Otti of a new discovery in the cure of breast cancer, without the victim going through the pains of chemotherapy, and pointed out that the team would want to use Abia as the base for the pilot, a request the governor responded to in affirmation.
Oriaku, who said he was among those, who had almost given up hope on Abia before the assumption of the present administration, expressed fulfilment that the medical mission which could not hold under the past administration, despite persistent requests and efforts, had been made possible under Otti.
The Revive team, according to the team lead, focuses on carrying out medical outreaches for the poor and the most vulnerable of the society, and is currently active in several African countries and beyond.