TheHILL | POLITICS | APRIL 4.
“We have built infrastructure, we have built industries, it is time to build the people”.
In this continuation of the series on ‘how onofiok Luke will build akwa ibom people’, we take a look at the beautiful blueprints that this ‘peoples’ aspirant has for the health sector in Akwa Ibom State.
The truth remains that it takes a man that has personally visited, and had relationship with communities, and people across Akwa Ibom State even to the deepest rural areas, before someone can come up with the level of deep insights that is represented in the blueprint of Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke.
For example, one could wonder how Onofiok Luke could quickly reminisce the plight and challenges that health workers in the riverine Eastern Obolo Local Government are facing, for him to effortlessly mention it during his consultation visit to the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom state. He said “I do not believe that health workers serving in riverine Eastern Obolo Local Government Area should earn the same hazard allowance as those working in the urban areas”.
Such is a deep statement of fact, was indicative of his knowledge of major challenges to health care service delivery in Akwa Ibom State. It was a statement that gives so much hope to the health workers who have been praying for a better working environment.
Away from that, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke believes that building the health capacity of the people is critical to any society as a healthy population will engender a productive economy. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) corroborates this assertion. In fact one of the key objectives of the WHO is “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health”.
Of course the various administrations that had piloted the affairs of this state since the fourth republic began in 1999 have been contributing their quota maximally to the development of a workable healthcare system in Akwa Ibom State. The administration of Onofiok Luke intends to leverage on those achievements by connecting the dots and fixing the missing links.
For example, he has already identified challenges that are currently bedeviling the sector to include; unavailability of health insurance, poor distribution of health workers, high maternal/child mortality rate especially in rural communities, inadequate funding of the health sector, and lack of incentives for health or medical personnel.
A deep look into the underlisted challenges in the health sector in Akwa Ibom state are clear pointers to the fact that Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke does understand the challenges of the health sector in the State.
As a man of elegant insight into the health needs and priorities of his people; one with astute exposure to universally adopted citizen-oriented health policies and programmes, Hon. Luke has proposed a strategic blueprint which, when implemented, would enormously provide succour to the unexciting status of the health care system in the state.
Central in this remedial and revitalisation plan are four fundamental areas; heath financing, health communication, infrastructural upgrade and health personnel motivation/reinforcement. In providing a robust financing to the health care system of the state, Onofiok Luke expresses an unbridled desire to increase the budgetary allocation for improvement of the quality of healthcare delivery; provide workable health insurance schemes; and directly fund the supply of essential healthcare materials to health facilities across the state.
Whether critical or cursory, an evaluation of the health system has indicated an apparent dearth and malfunctioning of existing health facilities in the state for decades. Informed by this and the readiness to restore good health to Akwa Ibom People, Hon. Luke is genuinely resolute to equipping and upgrading School of Health Technologies/Midwifery; establishing, revamping and appropriately equipping cottage hospitals/government owned laboratories/medical diagnostic centres; establishing new and reviving defunct General Hospitals in Akwa Ibom communities. For those with minimal performance, delivery of up-to-date equipment is the plan of Hon. Onofiok Luke.
Meanwhile, it would be a waste of time to plan all these without assessment and understanding of the salient roles of health personnel in actualizing this cause, and Hon. Luke proposes recruitment of additional health workers into the system, training and retraining of existing workers in different areas of specialties, in partnership with foreign medical professionals and organisations and he has a heart to renumerate them appropriately.
All these plans are realisable only when given the right platform.
Akwa Ibom people deserve a healthy life to thrive and drive a healthy economy, and only someone with a refined sense of commitment to this arduous task, can assure this significant necessity. The options are many for only one right choice. That ONE choice is a man that knows us and we know him, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke.
