Anambra State health institutions are mortuaries in disguise – lawmakers

 By Okechukwu Onuegbu

The Anambra State House of Assembly has bemoaned the state of public health facilities in the state, describ­ing them as morgues in dis­guise.

The lawmakers also dis­closed that most of the state general hospitals lack both human and materials to solve health needs of the people, and called on Governor Willie Obiano to urgently rehabil­itate, equip and make them functional.

According to the lawmak­ers, it was regrettable that most of the affected health centres were built and man­aged by the various commu­nities before being handed over to the state government for effective use.

They made reference to Sec­tion 14 (2b) of 1999 Constitu­tion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which says that the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, and section 17 (3d) of the same constitution that compelled every State

to direct its policy towards providing adequate medical and health facilities to the citizenry.

The legislators were react­ing to the motions sponsored by Hon Kingsley Iruba of Nnewi South 1 Constituency and 30 others, and Hon. Obin­na Emenaka and 14 others, who sought for attention of the state governor on Ukpor and Nando General hospitals which, according to them, were currently moribund.

Iruba, in a motion, lament­ed that Ukpor General Hospi­tal was built by the commu­nal effort of Ukpor community but was later handed over to the government of Anambra state to assist the govern­ment in providing effective and adequate health care to the Ukpor community, Nnewi South and its environs.

He, however, regretted that the government had not made what he termed ‘tangi­ble efforts’ to give the hospi­tal befitting status of a gener­al hospital since it was given to it.

Iruba, who is also the Chairman House Committee on Information and Commu­nication Strategy, pointed out that Nnewi South and its environs, the constituen­cy of Speaker Rita Maduag­wu, were subjected to untold hardship and in search of ef­fective and functional health care facility due to the poor and dilapidated condition of the only general hospital in the council area.

“Consequently, so many minor ailments have resulted in deaths due to poor state of the General Hospital. It has been described in some quar­ters as a glorified mortuary due to lack of adequate med­ical personnel, drugs, facili­ties, tools and equipment.

Similarly, Hon Emenaka, in his own motion, noted that Nando General Hospi­tal, Governor Obiano’s local government area is grossly understaffed and also lacks state-of-art equipment re­quired for proper diagnosis and treatment of ailments. He harped on the need to have the hospital adequately spruced up to “serve as the best alternative health care centre for the indigenes and residents of Nando”, given the dearth of private hospi­tals in the town and its envi­rons. He further, regretted the loss of lives in the area “as a result of poor health care ser­vice” and the inability of the Nando “hospital to meet the diverse health demands of its patients.”

Contributing to the debate, Lawrence Chukwunweike Ezeudu (Dunukofia Constit­uency) disclosed that nearly all state general hospitals, including those in his con­stituency, Ifitedunu, were in a deplorable condition.

Vivian Okadigbo (Oyi Con­stituency) urged her col­leagues to prepare and table the reports of all moribund general hospitals in the state because, according to her, all the state-owned general hos­pitals were in bad shape.