Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State has assured government commitment toward reducing maternal mortality and morbidity in the state to the barest minimum.
Dankwambo gave the assurance at the forth state council on health meeting and launching of the Pneumonia Vaccine in Gombe on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the meeting is: “Strengthening Health Care Financing to Support Universal Health Coverage in Gombe State”.
Represented by his Deputy, Mr Charles Iliya, the governor said the meeting would help to create awareness and educate people on pneumonia which is preventable but responsible for the death of many children in the world.
According to him, the meeting is considering the strategic position of the state in the North-East and the influx of Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, among others.
“It is due to this population increase, that the State Government pays priority attention to heath sector through construction and reconstruction of more hospitals and clinics, as well as renovating and equipping the existing ones.
He said that health management was capital intensive and cannot be successful without qualified and motivated personnel.
“Government has therefore given priority to training and retraining of personnel in the health sector, in addition to payment of salaries and allowance as at when due.
“Our desires are to ensure that our citizens have access to health services in the state,” he said.
READ: Gombe state tasked on pneumonia prevention
He promised continued payment of counterpart funds to ensure attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as prescribed by the United Nations.
Mr Kennedy Ishaya, the state Commissioner for Health, said the essence of the meeting was to place the state on track concerning quality health service.
According to him, Gombe is the only state in the entire North-East to be able to hold state council on health.
He said the state recorded significant milestone in healthcare service delivery by constructing over a N1 billion Women and Children Hospital to be inaugurated soon, among other projects.
Mrs Laraba Kawu, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, also said the meeting aimed at bringing key operators from the grass root level to discuss challenges faced by them.
She said that the memos would be presented at the forthcoming national council on health in Abeokuta.
