Abia State Government is to introduce a number of measures to address the nagging brain drain syndrome affecting the health sector.
Playing host to a delegation of the World Bank led by the Lead Governance Specialist, Ms. Deborah Isser who visited the State, Governor Otti announced that his administration would commence the procurement of equipment for the newly retrofitted primary healthcare centres with capacity building for existing healthcare givers to commence soon.
While disclosing that serious efforts to restore the dignity of the people through quality education and health care delivery in the State are being intensified he commended the team for coming to see what Abia State is doing in the areas of health and education.
“We are just doing our modest efforts to change our story and ensure that we restore the dignity of our people.
“And, how do you do that? Except through Education, most importantly and of course Health. If they are not healthy, there is nothing like dignity. If they are healthy and not
well educated, they can’t even communicate.
“So, when you talk about HOPE Governance , HOPE Health and HOPE Education, all those are just about the same thing that we are doing here, trying to give good governance to the people,” Gov. Otti stated.
Governor Otti who recalled that on assumption of office in 2023, the Healthcare and Education sectors were in shambles noted that his administration has made huge success in the Health and Education sectors as seen in the current retrofitting of a number of health and academic institutions across the State.
Governor Otti assured them that details of the progresses made in the areas of basic education and health as well as other related areas would be revealed to the team as it tours the MDAs relevant to its study.
In her speech earlier, the World Bank Lead Governance Specialist, Ms. Deborah Isser said that the delegation came to Abia State for a study tour as part of the World Bank’s Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) programme series.
Ms. Isser, who informed their host that they are focusing on two areas of HOPE Education and HOPE Health, said that the visit marked the commencement of a study on human resource management of teachers and healthcare workers in selected States, with Abia chosen as the first State due to its notable performance in this area and the State’s strong commitment to the implementation of the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy.
She commended Governor Otti for his administration’s commitment to strengthening human capital system and expressed readiness for continued collaboration to support Sub-National reforms under the HOPE program.
