Ebonyi state Commissioner Distributes Motorcycles to Health Workers

The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, has distributed 40 new motorcycles to health officers in Charge of pPrimary healthcare facilities in the state.

Performing the flag off ceremony of the programme at the state’s Ministry of Health in Abakaliki, the state capital, the Commissioner charged the health workers to show greater commitment to their duties.

Dr. Ekuma explained that the State Government procured the motorcycles using IMPACT fund, adding that the aim was to ensure quality health services delivery in the hinterland.

“Health officers, as well as Women Development Committee members, are by this gesture expected to step up their efforts to enhance service delivery, in the interest of our people,” he said

The Commissioner congratulated the forty health workers who benefitted from this first batch of the programme, adding that others who indicated interest would get theirs in the second batch.

Dr. Ekuma further encouraged them to take advantage of the mobility to reach out to pregnant women and children who missed antenatal or immunization care to know why and look at the possibility of closing the gap.

He noted that there are some rural communities in the state which could not easily be accessed by cars, and said with the motorcycles, coverages in those areas would be done with ease.

According to him, “this is what we observed, but with the help of these motorcycles, we want workers in those areas to ensure that they reach the hinterland and increase the immunization coverage. These motorcycles are also needed for other health services including monitoring the pregnant women.”

Dr. Ekuma advised the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture by showing more commitment and efficiency in their duties.

In a remark, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health, Dr. Sabinus Nwibo said that motorcycles would facilitate the movement of the health workers and help the rural populace receive adequate healthcare.

He disclosed that modalities are already in place to guarantee proper supervision of all the facilities provided by the state government to revitalise the health sector.

Earlier in a remark, the Programme Manager of IMPACT, Mr. Patrick Njoku Ogbodo, noted that government followed due process of the office and world bank to purchase the motorcycles, and expressed optimism that the motorcycles would help them to visit their clients in their homes and ensure that babies of pregnant mothers are delivered by trained staff.

The health officer in charge of Onunwakpu, in the Izzi Local Govetnment Area of Ebonyi State, Mr. Daniel Nkwuda who spoke on behalf of other beneficiaries, thanked the state government and the IMPACT Manager for making their dreams come through.

He promised that the beneficiaries were not going to fail in their assignment, but would use the motorcycles to impact positively on the lives of the people, through improved health care delivery system at the grassroots.