The Abia State government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening primary healthcare services, describing them as the most crucial level of healthcare delivery in society.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Enoch Uche, emphasized the importance of primary healthcare centers (PHCs) during an interview with LEADERSHIP in Umuahia.
He highlighted the government’s ongoing effort to retrofit 200 PHCs across the state as part of an initiative aimed at improving accessibility and quality of healthcare at the grassroots level.
The large-scale project, known as Ekwueme, was launched by Governor Alex Otti about a month ago, with a target of refurbishing 200 PHCs within 100 days.
Uche noted that the state currently has 948 PHCs, and while the initial phase focuses on 200 centers, he described the move as a bold and visionary step toward revitalizing the health sector.
So far, 20 out of the 200 targeted facilities have been fully retrofitted, while the remaining centers are at various stages of completion, ranging from 50 to 80 percent.
The commissioner expressed confidence that the project would be completed on schedule, aligning with the governor’s directive to enhance healthcare delivery across the state.
The Ekwueme initiative represents one of the administration’s most significant investments in healthcare, aiming to bridge the gap in primary healthcare services that had long been neglected.
