Governor of Abia State, Dr.Alex Otti has inaugurated a 100-bed Sustainable Development Multipurpose Hospital in Obeaja, Ugwunagbo Local Government Area of the state.
The hospital, constructed and equipped by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, OSSAP-SDGs, is to enhance access to quality healthcare in the region.
Speaking during the ceremony, Otti emphasised that health occupies a significant position in the state government’s rebuilding agenda.
He noted that the state-of-the-art hospital would bolster efforts to improve healthcare access.
The hospital is part of the federal government’s health intervention programme aimed at achieving Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. which focuses on good health and well-being.
The governor commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for prioritising the hospital’s completion and renaming it from the Mother and Child Hospital to the Sustainable Development Multipurpose Hospital.
The governor also thanked OSSAP-SDGs for delivering the facility and transitioning its management to the state government.
“I would like to thank you for your commitment to see the completion of this project and for ensuring that the state government will take over the management of the hospital,” Otti said. He also announced that the state government would provide additional land for the construction of doctors’ quarters,” Otti said.
Speaking at the occasion, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire described the hospital as an intervention aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president.
Orelope-Adefulire highlighted the federal government’s commitment to prioritising key interventions that have multiplier effects on eradicating multidimensional poverty.
A statement by the Special Assistant to the SSAP-SDGs on Media and Publicity, Desmond Utomwen, said Princess Orelope-Adefulire as detailed the hospital’s facilities to include two operating theatres, recovery rooms, private and general wards, a scanning room, consultation rooms, a laboratory, an ultra-scan machine, a vacuum extractor delivery set, and an emergency cart with full complements.
The hospital is directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘Quality Health and Well-being for all’ and other cross-cutting SDGs.
“OSSAP-SDGs has worked tirelessly to construct and furnish this state-of-the-art facility as a strategic tool for healthcare service provision in the state. It is expected that the state and local governments will use the facilities sustainably for the benefit of our mothers and children.
“Let this Mother and Child Centre be a beacon of hope and a testament to our dedication to building healthier and more prosperous communities,” the statement said.
Also speaking ,wife of the Abia governor, Mrs. Priscilla Otti, represented by wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Adaeze Emetu, l described the hospital as a testament to the government’s commitment to improving healthcare in alignment with SDGs.
She expressed confidence that the facility would enhance access to healthcare services and improve health outcomes.
The Transition Committee chairman of Ugwunagbo Local Government Area, Mr. Nosike Ihesiaba, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ifeyinwa Uma-Kalu, both described the hospital as a milestone towards equitable healthcare access.
For his part, chief executive officer of the state Hospital Management Board, Dr. Odochi Azubuike said the hospital has the capacity to provide comprehensive care, especially for women and children.
Speaking to newsmen, the deputy Transition Committee chairman of Ugwunagbo LGA, Mr. Kelvin Chijioke described the facility as “a first of its kind” in the area, expressing delight over its establishment and the benefits it will bring to the local communities.
