The healthcare sector of the State of Osun is growing at a tremendous pace, owing to its strengthened coverage and the increased attention to it by the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
Speaking during an inter-ministerial press briefing organized by the state Ministry of Information and Civic Orientation, the Commissioner of Health, Dr Rafiu Isamotu, detailed what the government has done so far to turn around the health sector which hitherto was in a deplorable State. Part of the developments recorded include the revitalization of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the state, of which 258 have been completed so far and already delivering services to both rural and urban dwellers in the state. He said Governor Oyetola has saved a number of public facilities from outright ruin under the revitalisation scheme. Some of the PHCs that had previously been overtaken by monkeys and other animals, according to reports, have been put back to shape and are already delivering values to the people of Osun.
Notably, the primary healthcare center at Arowojobe, which was first built in 1965 without toilets, and left in a dilapidated state as a result of poor management, has been revitalized, or actually rebuilt, by the current administration with all necessary facilities in place. Beyond revitalization, the governor, through the Ministry of Health, has also stocked the PHCs with drugs and purchased equipment for their smooth operations. He said as part of the gains derived from the intervention of Governor Oyetola through the revitalization drive, the revamp of the Ejigbo Hospital was a major factor in the control of the spread of COVID-19 in the State. “We would recall that even other States of the country benefited from the functionality of the Ejigbo facility during the ‘Ejigbo 127’ case, featuring returnees from Ivory Coast in April 2020.”
According to him, “Worthy of mention is implementation of maternal neonatal child care facilitated and sponsored through Saving One Million Lives programme, and an equity grant meant to provide health services for the poor vulnerable people. With respect to the welfare of health workers, the Governor Oyetola approved the full implementation of Revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health workers’ Salary Structure (CONHESS) in order to attract medical doctors and other health workers to the State with a view to improving the shortage of health personnel in all government hospitals in the state.”