Post by SSA.NEWMEDIA.ABIA (@SSANEWMEDIAABIA)
ABIA TAKES LEAD AS ONE OF THE STATES WITH LOWEST MATERNAL, INFANT MORTALITY RATE
Following the sustained investments of Governor Alex Otti in the healthcare sector and the strides recorded so far, the Abia state government has emerged as one of the best performing states in Nigeria in maternal and infant mortality rate.
This is contained in the recently released First Quarter Performance Dialogue. The Quarterly Performance Dialogue is a flagship accountability and management programme of the Federal Ministry of Health which brings together federal authorities, 36 state commissioners for health, and development partners to review sector progress, track key health indicators, and improve healthcare delivery nationwide.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday, July 13, 2026, while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week's State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti.
According to him, "The remarkable improvement in our maternal and infant mortality profiles is a direct outcome of the huge investments made by the administration of Governor Alex Otti in the health sector of the state
particularly through the renovation, retrofitting and functionalization of 200 primary healthcare centres across the state under the first phase of Project Ekwueme in addition to the 77 Impact World Bank sponsored PHCs. He disclosed that up to date, 139 PHCs have been fully functionalized, 50 PHCs are currently being equipped while 12 would be functionalized within a fortnight.
The Commissioner further noted that the state's Digital Health Project is driving increased patronage of public hospitals, revealing that over 9,136 patients have been onboarded across nine hospitals within the last three months. He added that health insurance enrollment has increased significantly from 40,000 beneficiaries in December 2024 to 225,581 as at July 2026, describing it as evidence of growing public confidence in the state's healthcare reforms.
The Information Commissioner further announced that work on the Obingwa General Hospital has reached an advanced stage, with rehabilitation works completed in several sections and new buildings added to the facility. He said the hospital is currently being equipped with state of the art medical equipment, including Digital Health and Telehealth facilities, ahead of its commissioning.
Prince Kanu also disclosed that Abia state is leading a joint initiative involving Anambra, Delta and Akwa Ibom States to domesticate a digital immunisation tracking system that links children's vaccination records with other social data to improve healthcare planning and disease prevention.
He urged residents to observe proper food hygiene as part of the Ministry of Health's weekly public health advisory, stressing that "Citizens are advised to adopt food hygiene and safety practices to prevent contamination of food and drinking water by disease causing germs."
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, explained that the outstanding performance recorded by Abia state my was independently verified through the Federal Ministry of Health's national reporting system.
He noted that "they (the results) clearly show that Governor Alex Otti's visionary and transformative investments in healthcare are producing measurable results . Also, in neonatal mortality, there was also a decline from nine to seven. And why is this so? It's because health is such that once you make the right investments, you get the right results, Prof. Uche stated.
He said that the state is making progress with respect to ensuring that the health of children is safeguarded and also leading in immunisation registry, which is being championed by four states, including Abia, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Anambra states.
"And the vaccine profile of our children is now digitised so that anywhere they go with that number, you can call up the vaccine records. So that when a child goes to school to go and register, with that code you will know whether that child is fully vaccinated or not.
"We've even gone a bit further to ensure that this record is linked with the geospatial mapping of the states,"Prof. Uche stated.
The Health Commissioner also called on residents to observe strict food safety measures to prevent foodborne illnesses.
"Every week now, we focus on a particular area of public health interest. And this week is on food poisoning. Food poisoning is a foodborne illness that is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated by germs.
"Common symptoms include stomach upset, diarrhea, which is usually watering, vomiting, fever, malaria.
"So how do you prevent it? One is to ensure that food hygiene practices and food safety practices are encouraged and practiced by everyone," Prof. Uche stated.
E-signed
DIVINE NWANKWO & OGECHI CHRISTOPHER
INFORMATION OFFICERS
GOVERNMENT HOUSE UMUAHIA
13 - 07 - 2026.
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