Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo says his administration is determined to build about 300 designated Primary Health Care centres (PHCs) across the state in 30 months.
Obaseki said this on Friday in Benin during the inauguration of the Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) ultra-medical care facility, called the Benin Medical Care (BMC).
He said that the new PHCs, which would be under the Edo Health Improvement Programme would be done in collaboration with health care providers.
He said that the problem confronting the health care delivery system in Nigeria had remained a burning topic for all.
According to him, an average of 20,000 Nigerians travel abroad every year, particularly to Asia, for medical assistance.
The governor said that the bulk of Nigeria’s health care issues were preventable and treatable diseases that could be handled at the primary health care level.
He said the diseases could not be prevented and treated because the primary health care facilities had been abandoned.
Obaseki said that the development prompted the decision of the state government to tackle health care challenges in the state from the foundation.
In his address, Dr Ravi Singh, the Chief Executive Officer of BMC, said the facility would serve the people of the state and its environs by making available health solutions that were hitherto only accessible abroad.
Singh, who was represented by Mr Raphael Odia, a senior official of the center, said that in the near future Edo would become a hub for medical diagnostics and therapeutics.
He further said that the management of BMC looked forward to effective collaboration with both government and privately-owned health facilities in the state and its environs.
“Our goal is to serve as a referral centre,” he said.
