Abia Partners MTN On Mobile Clinics

The Abia State Government will partner with MTN Nigeria to develop mobile rural clinic across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Okechukwu Ogah,  made this known while declaring open the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) 2012 physician week in Umuahia.

Ogah said that the scheme would be launched by the Governor Theodore Orji, before the end of the year 2012.

“Under the scheme, MTN would take up 18 Model PHC in the six local governments and run them efficiently for us for a given period of time.

“We are also partnering with national health insurance in the development of community health insurance scheme,’’ Ogah said.

He said that a pilot scheme of the health insurance programmes would start with some communities in Ohafia, Osisioma and Ukwa East Local Government areas.

Ogah stated that the state was almost in the final stage of sealing a deal with the National Health Insurance Scheme for Abia civil servants to key into NHIS, adding that Orji would sign the MOU with NHIS.

The commissioner, who reviewed government’s effort at boosting the primary, secondary and tertiary health system called on doctors to share the vision of government in moving the sector forward.

“We have a looming problem at hand because of the challenges of security in the country in recent time.

“There are quite a number of Abia children that are unimmunised, especially in the southern part of the state like Umunneochi Local Government area.

According to him, for a long time the people of South-East has been the best in term of immunisation in the country.

Ogah, who said that the state did not want to see polio again, urged NMA to champion the move for effective immunisation.

The state NMA Chairman, Dr Gad Uzoaga, said the physicians week was set aside for the members to look inward and assess the impact they made in the health care delivery.

Uzoaga described as worrisome the activities of revenue agents, who demand various levies from doctors in the state.