By Emma Ogbuehi
The Senate on Tuesday passed bills to establish the Orthopedic Hospital, Dekina, Kogi State and Federal College of Education, Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The approval followed the consideration of two separate reports by the Committees on Health (Secondary and Tertiary); and Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
The reports were presented by Senators Yahaya Oloriegbe and Nora Daduut.
Oloriegbe, in his presentation observed that Nigeria is one of the densely populated countries in the world which “is plagued with poverty and an exceedingly high burden of disease.”
According to him, Orthopedics such as musculoskeletal disorders, spine disease, cancers, tumors and congenital defects are suffered by many citizens without adequate care.
He explained that Orthopedic hospitals are important in improving health care in patients, adding that locating one in Dekina would bring healthcare closer to residents of densely populated urban and rural communities.
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Similarly, the Senate also on Tuesday passed another bill seeking to control and manage sickle cell anemia, a genetically inherited disease in Nigeria.
The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Senator Oloriegbe committee.
In his presentation, Oloriegbe explained that sickle cell anaemia is a disease and inherited disorder of Haemoglobin (SS) from either or both parents of a child affecting nearly 100 million people globally.
According to the lawmaker, Nigeria ranks 1st in the world as the sickle cell endemic country and was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2006 as the capital of sickle cell disease in the world.
He warned that, “The disease has the potential of affecting Nigeria’s aspiration of attaining Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-being of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2020 unless special attention is paid to the prevention and management of the disease.”
Oloriegbe stressed that the bill would establish the much needed legal framework for the prevention, control and management of the continuous spread of the disease, as well as avert early deaths and unnecessary medical expenses by families.
“The bill will strengthen existing structure, encourage and strengthen support groups and other groups to be able to assess the effectiveness or otherwise of the control strategies in place to eliminate sickle cell disease” he added.
Meanwhile, a bill seeking to provide legal framework for the establishment of the Federal Medical Centre Deba, Gombe State, scaled second reading on Tuesday.
The bill sponsored by Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).
The Committee was given four weeks to report back to the Senate.
In a related development, a bill to establish the Federal College of Education, Bassambiri, Bayelsa State also scaled second reading.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Biobarakuma Degi -Eremienyo (Bayelsa East).
The Senate President referred the bill after it was considered to the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND for further legislative work.
The Committee which is chaired by Senator Ahmad Baba Kaita is also expected to turn in its report in four weeks.