How healthy is the FCT?

After accessing the health sector in the FCT when he became Minister, Senator Mohammed found out that overall, 74 per cent of the communities are without primary health care which are supposed to be provided by the six Area Councils that make up the FCT, while only 26 per cent have access to primary healthcare. […]

After accessing the health sector in the FCT when he became Minister, Senator Mohammed found out that overall, 74 per cent of the communities are without primary health care which are supposed to be provided by the six Area Councils that make up the FCT, while only 26 per cent have access to primary healthcare. This translates to the fact that he had to ensure that decaying facilities are rehabilitated to ensure the survival of secondary healthcare facilities which have over time been overstretched due to population explosion in the FCT.
He therefore wasted no time in ensuring that FCT residents have increased access to health services by directing that the construction and equipping of the 225-bed Karu Hospital, procurement and commencement of the 220-bed Gwarinpa Hospital, expansion of primary health care services through the establishment of the FCT Health Care Development Board, expansion of the FCT Free Antenatal Care programme to second and third phases, commencement of Free under-5 Programme and the expansion of the FCT Health Service Scheme which is the  version of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The FCT Minister also  sofficially reopened the Rubochi General Hospital in Kuje Area Council that had been closed down for more than four years. Speaking at the occasion, he stated that “the present administration believes that health is s fundamental right of all people, families and communities.”
Obviously aware that health is  fundamental in the desire for Nigeria to attain the targets set through the Vision 20-2020, and indeed it takes more than just the provision and equipping of hospitals to ensure that the health of FCT residents is not jeorpadised, Senator Mohammed has also ensured that medical staff are being trained and retrained, promoted when due. He has made record as the first to implement the Consolidated Medical Structure for Medical Doctors and other health workers in Nigeria and also approved one-year post fellowship clinical attachment for resident doctors.
Concerned about the high rate of deaths through accidents, the Minister has struck another first in the life of administrations in the FCT when he flagged off the Emergency Response Medical Services (EMS). Speaking during the flag off ceremony at the Asokoro District Hospital, he stated that “the federal Capital City, like any fast growing city is having its fair share of emergency situations requiring quick and efficient response services. This is because of the massive construction activities and influx of people from land and air into the city for various adventures and activities.
“Government is conscious of this and is working very hard to minimize and respond quickly to those problems when they occur in order to save life and property. Staff should see this as national property and take care of the ambulances as if they are theirs. The ambulances are there to provide services as required so that citizens know that Government is responsible”, he added.
The Minister has also commissioned and distributed ambulances to various districts and General Hospitals in the FCT to bring relief to patients especially during emergency cases and in terms of manpower development, senator Bala has seen the need for the facelift of the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Gwagwalada, establishment of the School of Health Technology in Karshi and the up-scaling of immunisation, fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and leprosy, control of Malaria and Onchosichiasis.
The minister has warned Area Council chairmen in the FCT to ensure the eradication of poliomylitis in their areas or be held responsible. The Minister who stated this while flagging off activities to mark the Maternal Health Week, also described as shameful the continuous occurrence in Nigeria of the disease. He however noted that cases of polio virus had reduced to nine in 2008, one in 2009 with one in 2010, adding that “the FCT Taskforce on Polio Eradication and Routine Immunisation which I chair is to be re-invigorated to meet the targets set for the elimination of all cases of wild polio virus in the FCT.”
Senator Bala Mohammed believes strongly that programmes which his administration is pursuing vigorously which include free antenatal care for all pregnant women from conception to six weeks after delivery, free under-5 treatment programme which ensures that all children under 5 years in the FCT qualify for free medical treatment and emergency medical services to ensure prompt and efficient response to medical emergencies in a fast growing city like the FCT “are all geared towards ensuring that health facilities are brought closer to the people in their various communities”.
No doubt about it, the FCT Minister is passionate about taking the health sector to another level.
Lohor is media assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory