Health: The Governor Wike’s Example

Like in several other sectors in Rivers State, the health sector has experienced what could be regarded as astronomical development in the last three years plus, specifically under the Governor Nyesom Wike-led government.
On assumption of office in May, 2015, Governor Wike virtually declared a Save-Our-Soul (SOS) on the health sector of the state, which was almost in comatose:the workforce in the primary healthcare was on strike, and the secondary health care was either shut down, or facilities were in a state of disrepair.
The first key challenge the governor was faced with in order to alleviate the health burden of the citizenry in the state was to resuscitate the health sector in a revolutionising manner.
Governor Wike commenced his development of the sector by first calling back striking Primary Health workers to work, and also pay House Officers at the then Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) their dues, allowances owed them in months under the immediate past administration.
From that point, and over three years on, the governor has totally overhauled the health care system in the state in its entirety, both in infrastructural and human capacity development.
In terms of human capacity development, with support from various development partners, the Rivers State Government under Governor Wike conducted several training programmes for health care workers in the state.
Routine supportive supervision is also currently being conducted in health care facilities at all levels in the state.
One of the first things the governor did in the journey to bring the sector where it is today was to commence the renovation of 13 General Hospitals spread across the State.
The hospitals are: General Hospital, Abua (completed and commissioned); General Hospital, Nchia; General Hospital, Bodo; and General Hospital Ngo.
Others are the General Hospitals in Opobo Town, Buguma, Abonnema, Emohua, Isiokpo, Omoku, as well as the Cottage Hospital, Eberi.
Renovation works were also carried out at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Obio/Akpor. Most of these renovation works have either been completed, or over 90 percent completed.
The same was done to some primary health care centres, with the Waterlines House in Port Harcourt having been renovated to the status of the Head Office of the Rivers State Primary Health Management Board (RSPHMB), and has been fully put into use.
Currently, after extensive renovation of infrastructure, the BMSH has been upgraded to the status of Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). For this purpose, over $10.3 million was expended to provide necessary hi-tech medical equipment.
In the same vein, the building to house the Rivers State University Medical College has been completed and commissioned, ready to commence the Medical School of the University in the next academic session.
The benefit of the attention given to the health sector in the state was put to test severally, but specifically during the outbreaks of such illnesses as Ebola, Lassa Fever, and Monkey Pox. All these illnesses were duly checked before they could spread in the state.
Also, attention had been given to Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Tuberculosis (TB), and HIV/AIDS.
For NTDs, the state Ministry of Health carried out Rapid Assessment for Loasis (RAPLOA) in the 23 local government areas (LGAs) of the state. In Andoni and Bonny LGAs specifically, a revalidation exercise was carried out for Lymphatic Filareosis (LF) to precede mass administration of medicines, while treatment for LF has commenced in endemic LGAs.
Also, as part of efforts to enhance healthy living in the state, the state government, in partnership with Evidence Action, has completed School-Based Deworming exercise across the State in 2017 and 2018.
The state government also extended its health improvement reach to tuberculosis (TB) control, for which the state TB Control Programme received an award as the Best Performing State in the South-South for the control of TB in 2017.
In 2018, the programme has partnered with the State House of Assembly, where the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, is now the State TB Chairman. Rivers State is currently the best in electronic TB recording.
The state government also made inroads in tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic in several fronts. Key among these is the provision of a customised HIV self-test equipment known as “Amethyst HIV 1&2 Test Kit”. The kit is customised to make it easy for people, especially pregnant women, to apply it in order to ascertain their HIV status. It is noteworthy that this achievement is the first of its kind in Nigeria.
In a bid to further close the gap in the uptake of HIV/AIDS services at health facilities in the state, the government took health counselling services enrolment into care and support to the door steps of residents in the state.
Also, the Community Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) project has been piloted in three LGAs (Eleme, Port Harcourt, and Obio/Akpor) in collaboration with FHI/360.
Again, with support from USAID and FHI 360, the state acquired a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine for diagnosis of HIV and other viral infections, and detection of viral Load.
This has reduced the burden of both People Living WithHIV/AIDS (PLWHIV) and health care providers who, hitherto, took blood samples of PLWHIV to neighbouring states to ascertain their viral load levels.
Due to the vision of the state government in ensuring safe maternal and child health, the government, in collaboration with “The Challenge Initiative (TCI)”, has increased family planning uptake services in its health facilities in the state.
In recognition of the contributions of Governor Nyesom Wike to health care in Rivers State, he was given an award for Excellence in Leadership at the 2017 World AIDS Day celebration.
The governor’s commitment to improve the health sector of the State is further made clear in his earmarking of about N50 billion to the sector in the 2019 Budget, which is a great improvement from 2018.
It is hoped that given the manner he has started from assumption of office, it can only get better: projects already embarked upon, few of which are in various stages of completion, will need to be completed, and more health-friendly projects need to be embarked upon, including manpower development, in accordance with developments in the global health sector.

Sogbeba Dokubo