Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that every effort at achieving development in any society will come to waste if the health of the people is not adequately factored into it.
This, he said, accounts for why his administration was intensifying efforts at reviving the near comatose health sector that operated without an effective secondary healthcare facilities in the State.
Fubara stated this when he received a delegation of the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) led by its National President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, at Government House in Port Harcourt, last Friday.
A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, also stated that Fubara also confirmed the appointment of Prof. Chizindu Dike Alikor as the substantive Chief Medical Director of Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH).
The governor explained that provision of quality healthcare service and development efforts needed to be properly integrated to achieve the overall goals.
He said workers, and indeed, all citizens needed to be healthy if they are expected to be productive and contribute their quota to advance governance.
“The governor and his team cannot succeed without your support. That is the truth, and any government that has the interest of its people at heart must pay adequate attention to the provision of quality healthcare services.
“Healthcare goes with development. That is the truth. Your workers need to be healthy to be productive. If you put everything in place and you don’t have good health, then your people will be under-productive.”
Fubara said that as a government that means well for the people, it was solving the plethora of issues inherited in the health sector without making noise about it.
He explained that health facilities, particularly those that provide intermediary services were being rebuilt and strengthened, zonal hospitals would be revived while the personnel are adequately being motivated because they are critical partners in government.
According to him, those were achieved by approving and implementing promotion for health workers, implementing consequential salary for them, paying hazard allowances and many other incentives.
“I don’t think when you do what you’re supposed to do, you need to be commended. It is not proper. It is the duty of the government to care for its workers and that is what I’ve done.
“I will put it this way: I want to appreciate the NMA – both national and state chapter – for your support, your patience. I know it wasn’t easy, it has never been easy for them even with what we have done, it’s still not sufficient. We need to do more.
“I want to thank you for your support, and we, on our part, will continue to do our best to ensure that, at least, the relationship between us does not go bad,” the governor said.
In his speech, the National President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Uche Ojinmah, said he led the delegation to thank the governor for what he has done to better the lot of medical personnel in the State.
Ojinmah recalled that he was in Port Harcourt two years ago to beg the previous government to promote medical workers, increase their salary, pay them hazard allowances plus other incentives but was ignored.
He noted that Fubara had, without prompting, attended to those concerns, including employing more personnel, and rescuing the NMA Secretariat from crumbling.
Also speaking, the State Chairman of NMA, Dr Ebi Robinson, said they wrote their national body to inform them about what they have started enjoying under the Fubara-led administration.
Robinson listed the promotion of personnel who were stagnated for 10 years, increase in salary payment, gift of utility bus to the association, appointment of their members into several boards as some of the benefits NMA members have enjoyed under Fubara’s leadership, and pledged continued support of the association to the government.
He stated that the implementation of those welfare packages has motivated medical doctors and workers to put in their best to improve healthcare service delivery for the benefit of Rivers people.