Abia To Launch Medical City
The Abia State Government has announced the upcoming launch of the Abia Medical City, a signature project designed to reverse the trend of medical tourism by providing world-class healthcare services within the state.
The Abia State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Umuahia on Tuesday, stated that the facility would position Abia State as a premier destination for medical care, not only for Nigerians but for citizens across Africa.
“The Abia Medical City is a project that will direct traffic towards the state in terms of medical services.
“A situation whereby, rather than go outside the country to go and seek medical attention, Abia citizens and Nigerians in general, even the whole of Africa, will want to come to Abia State for medical services once that project is done with,” Prince Kanu stated, adding that a date for the groundbreaking ceremony would be announced soon.
In addition, the Commissioner highlighted the flag-off of Project Ekweme, which took place on Monday, describing it as an ambitious initiative.
“Yesterday, we all witnessed the flag-off of Project Ekweme, a project involving the reconstruction of 200 primary health centres in 100 days. That’s another massive investment in the health sector to underscore the huge budgetary allocation that the state government provided for the health sector,” he said.
Also speaking at the briefing, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Uche, detailed the ongoing collaboration between the state government and an international medical organization, the Revised Health Journal.
“As I’m talking to you now, there is a group of medical experts known as the Revised Health Journal, which is a recognized international medical organization that is in Abia State under the invitation of his excellency and they are partnering with our experts and treating our citizens at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital,” he said.
He explained that the medical team arrived in the state on Saturday and commenced work immediately after a courtesy visit to the governor.
“As I’m talking to you, they’ve already done over 400 free medical consultations and they have performed, on the first day, seven complex surgeries free of charge,” Uche disclosed.
The Commissioner added that the exercise, which will last until January 31, is expected to benefit over 1,000 patients and include 80 to 100 surgeries to be conducted free of charge.
He noted that His Excellency had approved the release of funds to procure and install the necessary medical equipment to support the initiative.
“His Excellency also sent two members of the health ministry, two staff of the health ministry, to Belgium to walk out the fine lines of this collaboration,” he stated.
Speaking further on Project Ekweme, Prof. Uche emphasized the strategic importance of primary healthcare centres, describing them as critical to addressing the health needs of the population.
“Primary healthcare centres account for 70 to 80 per cent of the healthcare needs of the population. So when you get the primary healthcare centres right, you have taken care of 70 to 80 per cent of the healthcare needs of your population,” he said.
He further explained that the project, which began on December 4, 2024, involves an investment of over ₦10.7bn and ensures that each of the state’s 184 wards has at least one functional primary healthcare centre, with additional centres in larger wards.
“I guess many of us who moved around during the Christmas period would have seen where they removed the roofs or were rehabilitated.
“As I’m talking to you, that project started on the 4th of December and some of them are already completed,” he said, adding that the commissioning of the centres would take place soon.
Abia To Launch Medical City is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
