Abia State Government has established a biomedical unit to ensure that the installed medical equipment in state government hospitals are maintained and repaired when the need arises to prevent downtime.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday at Government House Umuahia, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
According to him, “a hands-on training programme is ongoing for biomedical engineers and staff of the Ministry of Health on equipment maintenance in collaboration with , Medshare USA and CPR USA Engineers, who are currently in the state to train our own engineers.”
The Commissioner disclosed that the training programme, which commenced on May 12, 2026, is expected to end on May 22, 2026.
He made public that it is designed to build local capacity for the maintenance and management of modern medical equipment in state-owned health facilities.
The Commissioner revealed that the National Malaria Elimination Programme, led by the National Coordinator, Dr. Mrs. Nnenna Ogbulafor recently conducted an advocacy visit to Abia state, and congratulated the state on the reduction in prevalence of malaria in the state from 16.5% in 2024 to 11.5% in 2025.
He further announced that the team plans to conduct a mass distribution of 3 million insecticide- treated mosquito nets sometime in September 2026.
The Commissioner equally noted that several general hospitals currently being built or renovated by the state government are nearing completion , revealing that, the Governor would be commissioning the Obingwa General Hospital and the Phase One of the Arochukwu General Hospital as part of activities marking the administration’s third anniversary later this month.
Prince Kanu also stated that the 15 primary health centres (PHCs), that are currently being equipped would be functionalised and commissioned during the period, adding that, the onboarding of additional PHCs into the Digital-in-Health Project has commenced, with four more PHCs scheduled to be integrated in the current phase.
On the public health advisory issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Council for Disease Control (NCDC), regarding the Ebola outbreak in DRC, Congo and Uganda, he reassured residents that there is currently no confirmed case of Ebola in Abia state or anywhere in Nigeria.
He emphasised that the State’s Public Health Unit remains fully alert and is closely monitoring the situation to ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of Abians and said that, there is no confirmation of any disease of public health concern in Abia state.
Contributing, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche described the establishment of the biomedical unit as an intentional initiative by Governor Otti to ensure sustainability in the ongoing healthcare reforms in the state.
“We don’t just want to build hospitals, equip them, and then the equipment will, , malfunction, and then, you know, we won’t be able to have the quality of care that he has promised in the Abia.
“So, this was well thought out to ensure that we have a unit that maintains those equipment to reduce or eliminate downtime.
