A total of 50,000 residents of Ekiti State are targeted for various medicare services as the Ekiti State free medical mission organised by the state government, commences.
Governor Kayode Fayemi, who disclosed this on Wednesday in Ikere Ekiti, during the official flag off of the programmme tagged “Ekiti Free Health Mission,” said the programme was targeted at reversing the negative health indices of the state.
At the ceremony held at the palace of Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado, Governor Fayemi added that the programme was part of the activities of his administration towards ensuring that Ekiti State did not lag behind any more in delivery of high quality and effective health care.
Fayemi explained that his administration had begun the process of reversing the poor health indices of the state’s health sector in order to produce good health outcomes for the citizenry.
He expressed the determination of his administration to ensure that the state did not lag behind in the delivery of quality and effective health care service, saying the goal of his government was to ensure that Ekiti State “regains its place in the comity of states by reworking our health system to deliver improved health indices as marker of a healthy society.”
According to him, “in Ekiti State as at 2018, mortality rate among children was 49 deaths per 1000 population in the first month of life. 69 deaths per 1000 in the first year of life while it is 86 deaths in the first five years of life of the children.”
“Ekiti State skilled birth attendants also dropped from being the first in the South West region in 2015 now to being the fifth in position among the South West states.”
Governor Fayemi said: “By the account from the first two days of this mission, we believe that by the end of this first phase, we would have been able to serve over 50,000 residents of Ekiti State. This mission is a first installment of a revolutionary health programme portfolio that will ensure that healthcare can be delivered quantitatively and sustainably.”
The Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr Folakemi Olomojobi, said the personnel of the free health mission tagged “Ulera Ekiti” had been making house to house visitation to distribute insecticide-treated nets, give immunisation and offer family planning services to residents and other beneficiaries of the scheme.
Olomojobi charged the people of the state to collaborate with the government in its efforts to guarantee easy access to qualitative and free medical services.
Dr Olomojobi said 10,246 people had received free treatment in general outpatient cases, dental surgeries, HIV/AIDS test, family planning and other health issues within the first two days of the mission.
Also speaking at the flag off ceremony, the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Adu commended Governor Fayemi for initiating the programme, calling on Ekiti residents to troop out and benefit from the health mission.
The health mission, which commenced in Emure-Ekiti is planned to last for eleven days, and it is targeted at pregnant women, women of reproductive age, children under five years, the aged and the unemployed who are considered as the vulnerable group of the state’s population.
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