Women Group Plans Specialist Hospital

Umu-AdaIgbo (Daughters of Igboland), a Pan-Igbo social
cultural organisation, has concluded plans to establish a specialist hospital
in the South-East, the Coordinator, Mrs Philomena Nnamani, said.

Nnamani disclosed the plan in an interview in Ovim, Isiukwato
Local Government Area of Abia State, during the August home-coming meeting of
Ovim Women Improvement Union.

The home-coming event is a biennial meeting of Ovim women at
home and in The Diaspora, which affords them the opportunity to review rural
development efforts and map out strategies to implement them.

Nnamani said the move to establish the hospital became
necessary following the increasing rate of maternal mortality and other related
diseases in the southeast. “We have acquired 20 hectares in Anambra State for
the establishment of this hospital,” she said.

The coordinator said the hospital would be equipped with
modern facilities and added that “when completed, we may not have any need to
travel outside the country for health problems.’’

She said that Umu-AdaIgbo was an initiative that would serve
as a rallying point for all black women across the globe, who could trace their
roots to the South-East of Nigeria. “We encourage all blacks in the Diaspora to
establish links with their people at home in order to assist in empowerment and
development projects,” she said.

Nnamani said that the group had established a micro-finance
bank in Enugu as a means of boosting economic activities of women.

Meanwhile, Dr Ejike Orji, IPAS Country Director in Nigeria,
said  that IPAS had collaborated with the
group over the past five years to educate women in the zone on reproductive
health issues.

“We have conducted sensitisation programmes on women
reproductive health and rights in 40 communities in the South-East. “Women are
now getting informed about their health, rights and the need to adopt family
planning,” he said.

Ejike urged women to pay more attention to their health
needs and to engage in activities that would boost their income.