Ref-""Hospital workers lament Dilapidated state of warri central hospital,discredit Okowa Administration " as reported and published on June 20, 2017 by Sahara Reporters "

. SAHARA REPORTERS ARE PATHOLOGICAL LIARS -Patriot Dantes Odogwu.

After reading with utter consternation the misleading falsehood embedded in the write up titled "Hospital workers lament Dilapidated state of warri central hospital,discredit Okowa Administration " as reported and published on June 20, 2017 by Sahara reporters, I couldn't help concluding that mischief makers are at work again and that the author is an unscrupulous and derogatory merchant of naked lies on a mission to score cheap political goal for the opponents of the amiable Governor Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.

 I wish to first unequivocally assert and suggest that media reportage should be based on facts and not propaganda as portrayed in the said article.
It is imperative to state here that the main thrust of the present administration’s health policy is to ensure universal health coverage which guarantees availability, accessibility and affordability of health care for all Deltans.

 It is for this purpose that the Government of His Excellency, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa sponsored a bill for the establishment of the State Contributory Health Commission to the Delta State House of Assembly within three weeks of his inauguration and that bill has since been signed into law
Just Recently, the commissioner for health,one of Nigeria’s finest brains in the realm of medicine,Dr Nicholas Azinge was commended for the massive strides being recorded in the Health sector in Delta State.

  Governor Okowa was praised by Hon. Sunny Orishedere for the completion, upgrading and equipping of the Hospitals in Abavo and Patani as well as the remodeling/rehabilitation of the dialysis center building at Central Hospital Warri, the recommencement of work at the central Hospital Asaba, the construction of ultra modern sewage treatment plant at DELSU, Oghare and the granting of over 100 million naira to DELSU for operational enhancement.

He noted that Dr. Azinge has taken the State Ministry of Health to an enviable height, affirming that within a short period of time as the commissioner in charge of Health, he has shown competence and capacity in key areas towards ensuring effective and efficient service delivery in the Health sector.

On  June 19th, 2017,the the honourable commissioner for health, Dr Nicholas Azinge, paid on-the-spot visit to the Warri Central Hospital after his ministry received reports and appeals from some advocacy groups on social media and the hospital management on the need for the Delta State government to upgrade some of the hospital facilities.

On the arrival of the Honourable commissioner, the medical director of the Warri Central Hospital Dr. Ijomoney Ese welcomed the commissioner and conducted him and his entourage round the hospital.

He passionately thanked the honourable commissioner for finding time out of his very busy schedule to visit the hospital,on what he described as a fact finding mission.

The medical director disclosed that the hospital is being faced with power challenges. He also said that 12 generators are working out of the 15 generators in the hospital.

He thanked the Delta State Government for providing new ambulance and incinerator for the hospital and appealed to the State Government to look into the problems the hospital is being faced with a view to addressing them.

 Dr. Nicholas Azinge in his response thanked the management and staff of Warri Central Hospital and disclosed that the State Government has the plan of upgrading and renovating all the  Central Hospitals, across the state.

He tasked the management of the hospital to ensure proper usage of the facilities provided them by the state government and imbibe mainteanance culture stating that the government of Sen. Okowa will continue to do its best to ensuring that Deltans gets quality health services.

He disclosed that two dialysis machines will be supplied to Warri Central Hospital as soon as possible assuring all that Governor Okowa is committed to ensuring a total upgrade of all health facilities in government owned hospitals
Dr Azinge said that a committee will be set up to facilitate the provision of the hospital demands.

Contrary to what was published by sahara reporters,Governor Okowa did not at any time stop the free mother and child care that was initiated by the past administration in hospitals but instead made it sustainable to last beyond his administration through the Delta State Health Insurance Scheme where he signed the Law that 0.5% of the State Consolidated revenue should be used to pay for the healthcare service of all pregnant women, children under 5 years, the elderly over 65 years and the Physically and Mentally Challenged residents of Delta State.

The free Cesarean section program is still on and has been extended to the Primary Healthcare facilities along with the Free Mother and Child healthcare program.

Recall that under the previous administration, the program was only in the General Hospitals, far away from most rural communities. Governor Okowa's administration has extended the free program to Primary Healthcare Centers to make the program more accessible to those in the villages and other rural communities.

As at today, over 60,000 pregnant women and children under 5 years are currently receiving free treatment in several hospitals that have been accredited across state. The scheme is healthcare of the people, by the people, for the people .



 I therefore urge Deltans to overwhelmingly support the Delta State Contributory Health Commission which is an active part of the governor’s SMART Agenda to provide affordable, accessible and quality healthcare for all Deltans.

There is absolutely no truth in the fabricated story by sahara reporters.We therefore urge Deltans and the general public to discard and disregard the unfounded publication.

In my next article,i will enumerate the many achievements of Governor Okowa in the health sector.