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Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has launched a meningitis vaccination campaign ordering the mass vaccination of children between the ages of one and five.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony at Abakpa Nike Primary Health Centre in Enugu East Local Government Area, yesterday, Ugwuanyi stressed the importance of the campaign against meningitis, stating it came at a season where people are most vulnerable. “Meningitis is often associated with heat and dry season,” said Ugwuanyi who noted that Enugu was the first state in Southern Nigeria to fully implement the meningitis mass vaccination.
He said the state also came first in the country in maternal and child healthcare indices, according to a Lots Quality Assurance Survey by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
Reiterating the state government’s premium on healthcare delivery for citizens and residents, Governor Ugwuanyi said the State Ministry of Health, since 2015, has taken the third position after the Ministries of Works and Education in terms of capital expenditure portfolio provision in the budget.
The governor said his administration was being encouraged by the results it is getting to continue pursuing the goal of a healthy state. He also said the state government is expecting the visit of the African Regional Certification Committee for Polio eradication saying “they adjudged Enugu the best performing state in South East in terms of polio eradication”.
Ugwuanyi said the state operates a free pre-natal and anti-natal treatment for women, while general hospitals in various local government areas are being rejuvenated resulting to an all-time low infant mortality.
Ugwuanyi said his administration is repositioning the Primary Healthcare Development Agency for optimum results, adding that the state paid N100 million counterpart fund to enable it benefit from the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
“The state provided a take-off grant of N200 million to Enugu State Agency for universal health coverage and a duplex at No. 12 Colliery Avenue as office complex for Universal Health Coverage. In November, Enugu state ensured that the measles second dose campaign was transferred into our routine immunization exercise,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state House of Assembly has commenced plans to probe contractors responsible for failed road or infrastructure projects wthin the past five years.
Addressing journalists shortly after the plenary on Tuesday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Mr. Chima Obieze, said this had become necessary given numerous complaints of shoddy jobs done by contractors in the state.He said the move was to ensure that contractors responsible for shoddy jobs were brought to book.
Obieze, representing Ezeagu constituency, said some of the complainants had threatened to drag the state government to court over the poor execution of jobs by contractors.
The lawmaker, therefore, called on residents to report any failed road or infrastructure to the state. He urged members of the public with valuable information to send it in writing to Room 212 in the Assembly complex or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Obieze warned that the committee would not allow contractors frustrate efforts of the state government to provide quality infrastructure to citizens.
He said the committee would not only attend to the petitions, but would also visit the sites to ascertain for themselves the complaints by the public.
The member representing Uzo-Uwani constituency, Mr. Josephat Okika, urged the committee chairman to get the contract term of the failed projects to save the committee from misfiring.
Another member of the committee representing Nsukka West constituency, Mr. Emma Ugwuele, regretted that most of the failed roads and other projects were those handled by local contractors and asked them to up their game to avoid being blacklisted by the government.
