Anambra Primary Health Centers get Tricycle Ambulances, and Medical Equipment

www.odogwublog.com reports that the State Government has commenced distribution of tricycle ambulances, medical equipment and office furniture to sixty-three Primary Healthcare Centres across the state.

The exercise was inaugurated by Governor Willie Obiano at the Awka South Local Government field, Amawbia.

The ambulances are fully kitted with necessary medical accessories while the medical equipment presented to the Health centres include stethoscopes, drip stands, surgical forceps, ward screen, foldable stretchers, mercurial Sphygs, among others.

The benefitting Primary Health Centres, drawn, three each from the twenty-one Local Government Areas of the state, were also given power generating sets, office furniture and other accompaniments.

Also during the event, the World Health Organization handed over twenty-two motorbikes to Anambra State Government to strengthen disease surveillance across the state.

Presenting the equipment, Governor Obiano explained that the initiative was consistent with his administration's vision to revolutionize the state's Primary Healthcare arrangement and said the ambulances were built by an indigenous manufacturer for the state terrain.

While emphasizing that there must be training of operators of the Tricycle ambulances before they use them, Governor Obiano directed the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, in partnership with the benefitting communities, to develop a pragmatic modality that will ensure that fueling does not constitute a challenge for the initiative.

The Governor thanked the WHO for their donation, which, he noted, will ensure that the State is free from outbreak of any form of epidemics.

A representative of the WHO, Dr Willie Onuorah, said the essence of the motorbikes is to develop a strong surveillance system to support early detection of epidemics with a view to averting its outbreak.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Josephat Akabuike, revealed that the state government had, in the first phase, upgraded infrastructure in the sixty-three health centres and provided them with boreholes and is at present, providing the ambulances and other medical equipment, while staffing of the centres will be the third phase.

The Executive Secretary, State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Chioma Ezenyimulu, pointed out that the ultimate goal of government is to achieve one Primary Health Centre in each of the three hundred and twenty-three political wards, even as she said that the tricycle ambulances and other equipment will help reposition the state's primary healthcare system to function effectively.

Symbolic handover of keys to the beneficiaries as well as presentation of the motorbikes to the State government formed the highpoints of the event.