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The Ebonyi State government has taken delivery of more medical equipment worth billions of naira for the 13 general hospitals and other health facilities across the state.
The equipment included delivery beds, operating beds, and other beds of different functions, among others.
Inspecting the massive equipment in a warehouse where they were parked, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, said the latest delivery of the medical equipment was the fourth tranche procured by Governor Francis Nwifuru to address the challenges in the general hospitals and other health facilities in the state.
He noted that with the procurement of the medical equipment, the major challenge in the health sector has been addressed by the state government.
He described the power problem as another challenge the government wants to pay attention to in the health sector to enable health facilities to perform optimally.
The Commissioner said: “We are taking delivery of the fourth tranche of medical equipment procured by Ebonyi State government. We have had the first, the second, the third and when you total it, it’s about 26 40ft containers. It’s a welcome development because medical equipment and hospital consumables were part of the major challenge the state was having.
“With this, the major challenge in the health sector has been addressed though we have another serious challenge we are addressing too. Epileptic power supply has been a major problem in the country.
“So, we also plan to have an alternative power supply to solarize the hospitals so that when the public power supply is not there, we can use the solar system.
“We also want to digitalize the hospitals. We want to have what we called electronic medical system whereby with the punch of a button, you can communicate with another hospital when you want to admit a patient. We also need to have a specialized healthcare in our general hospitals.
“We are still expecting more hospital equipment but not as big as this 4th tranche. The ones we are expecting are heavy equipment like the MRI
and CT scan.
“The ones we are delivering now are delivery beds, operating beds, side lockers, beds of different functions. We have two function beds, we have five function beds and all other equipment across the state.”
On his part, Commissioner for Information and State Orientation Jude Okpor said the procurement of the equipment was the unwavering commitment of the Nwifuru administration to transform the health sector.
He called on people to protect the facilities.
He commended the governor for addressing the health needs of the people through adequate attention to the health sector.
Okpor said: “What we are witnessing here today is the unwavering commitment of the administration of his Excellency, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru to provide the basic necessities of life, particularly medical health facilities of world class standard.
“Before the advent of this administration and the fulfillment of his manifesto, the People’s Charter of Needs as it concerned provision of basic health needs of the people of the state, His Excellency has taken the bull by the horn by providing all the enablement to ensure that the health needs of Ebonyians are met starting from the recruitment of medical personnel.”
