Speeches

Commissioning Of 57 Ambulances Purchased By The Conference Of Executive Secretaries Of Local Governments/Local Council Development Areas To Complement Healthcare Delivery In Lagos State

Jun 24, 2008 - You cannot imagine how delighted I am to be here this morning to commission the 57 Ambulances procured by the Conference of Executive Secretaries and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State to enhance the delivery of Healthcare Services in the State. For one, this initiative will significantly increase the capacity of our public health system to respond to emergencies and offer efficient medical services to the people particularly at the grassroots. Again, it will further increase the confidence of the people in our government as a caring one that will spare no effort in protecting their best interest. This initiative is also a practical demonstration of how all levels of government in a federation must work in concert to continuously improve the quality of life of the populace.

As we all know, Primary Healthcare Centres are on the concurrent list in our constitution and the sole responsibility of managing them rests squarely on the Local Governments. Primary Healthcare Centres have a very critical role to play in our bid to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health and reduce poverty by half by Y2015. They are nearest to the grassroots where majority of the people live and where the problem of poverty is most pervasive. The services which they render, if effectively delivered, will minimize the incidence of disease generally, reduce the pressure on secondary and tertiary health care facilities and in the long run help reduce expenditure on curative health. These services include Health Education, Maternal and Child Health, Water Supply Sanitation, Food and Nutrition, Minor ailments and provision of essential drugs.

It is unfortunate that the efficient delivery of these essential services by the primary healthcare Clinics in our Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas have been severely hampered over the years by multiple challenges including inadequate human, logistic and financial resources. Given the substantial revenues generated from Lagos into the national coffers, and the immense pressure on her infrastructure by the huge population and vehicular inflow from all over the country, Lagos receives only a pittance in return from the center. There is thus hardly ever enough resources to make the desired impact in any one sector given the magnitude of work that needs to be done in several competing sectors all at once. This is why we are building on the foundation laid by the preceding administration and strengthening the internal financial autonomy and capacity of the state to meet its onerous responsibilities.

The shortage of ambulances to effectively service our Primary Health Care system is symptomatic of the insufficiency of resources I referred to earlier to do all that we know ought to be done for the benefit of our people. By this initiative, the Conference of Executive Secretaries of Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas have taken a decisive and commendable step to address this problem and complement the fleet of ambulances presently in use by the State Government. The provision of these Ambulances will go a long way in enhancing health care delivery at the grassroots by facilitating referral services from the Primary Healthcare Centers. This will in turn have a positive impact on the attainment of our Millennium Development Goals by reducing the rate of Maternal and Infant Mortality caused by lack of referral services. Apart from taking care of emergencies, they will be of immense service in transporting patients to secondary institutions such as the General Hospitals within the precincts of the Local Governments and environs.

I am confident that the provision of these Ambulances at Primary Healthcare Centres will strengthen the confidence of the people in our local government system as well as in the capacity of democracy to deliver concrete dividends. I wish to commend the quality and standard of the Ambulances and the careful preparations made to ensure that they serve the people maximally. These include provision for ready availability of spare-parts to regularly service the vehicles and keep them on the road; fitting them with GIS monitor and other security devices in to monitor their movements and locations at any given time; the training of Drivers and Nurses to man the fleet for effective performance and aligning the Ambulances with the State Ambulance Service for effective co-ordination.

For our Administration, Health is a fundamental human right of everyone irrespective of their socio-economic status. While we are placing renewed emphasis on Primary Health Care, this is only one aspect of our commitment to providing Comprehensive Health Care for all from the “womb to tomb” to borrow a popular phrase. This is why we are sustaining the provision of free health care for children under 12, the aged above 60 and free ante-natal care for women. We are equally sustaining and expanding our specialized free health programs including free screening for hypertension and diabetes, free Blindness prevention program, free Limb Deformity Corrective Surgery, Free Cleft Lip corrective surgery and the quarterly free Eko Health Mission that brings free specialized medical care, including diverse types of surgery, to the door steps of the people at the grassroots. At the same time, we are expanding, continuously re-equipping and staffing our secondary and tertiary health facilities to contain the tremendous pressure on our public health facilities.

Most of our activities in other sectors also have positive implications for the over all health and well being of our people. Our aggressive beautification of the environment including the clearance of drains and upgrading of slums, for instance, will help mitigate the incidence of malaria. Our various employment generation schemes and programs, that are creating thousands of new jobs, are empowering more people to afford more nutritious diets and make them less vulnerable to infectious and other diseases. Our Eko Meat Vans by facilitating hygienic transportation of meat are also helping to eliminate a major source of infectious diseases. As a government, we will continue to explore all avenues to safeguard and promote the health of our people.

On behalf of the State Government and the good people of Lagos State, I hereby express my sincere appreciation to the Executive Secretaries of Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas for their partnership with the State Government in the provision of sound healthcare services to the people of this State. I look forward to this kind of partnership in other sectors.

Thank you and God bless you.

EKO O NI BAJE O.

BARRISTER BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA (SAN)
GOVERNOR, LAGOS STATE