The Edo State Government has reiterated it commitment towards promoting health care delivery for the under-aged citizens of the state, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
Governor Godwin Obaseki, disclosed this when he received representatives of development partners at the Government House in Benin.
Obaseki noted that his administration was concerned that the future of the state could be threatened if the issues affecting the education and health of persons under the age of 15 were not addressed.
He said, “We want to work with you to deal with the challenges in our health sector. I am scared that if we do not begin to address the health and education challenges of the under-15 population, which constitutes a high percentage of the state’s population, we will be endangering our future.”
The governor, who expressed displeasure over the problems facing immunisation programmes in the state, promised that the state government would leverage on the tools and methods of WHO to get things done appropriately.
He, however, commended the organisation for its renewed commitment towards a healthy society, even as he said that his administration planed to revamp the state’s health sector through proper implementation of strategic policies to eliminate for efficient use of resources.
Earlier, the State Coordinator, Mrs. Faith Ireye, explained that the aim of the visit was to intimate the governor on the organisation’s activities carried out in 2016 in partnership with the state ministry of health.
Ireye said that the state was still faced with challenges in the implementation of its immunisation programmes and the management of the Lassa fever.
She listed some of the challenges to include lack of counterpart funding by the state and the local government areas for immunisation activities, inadequate funds for the state vaccine cold stores and lack of impress for immunisation-surveillance.
While calling on the state government to beef up public enlightenment on Lassa fever in the LGAs, he commended the governor for flagging off the 2017 National Immunisation Plus Days in the state.
(Punch)
