Residents Urge FG to Expedite Purchase and Installation of Equipment in Imo Health Centre

Residents of Amaocha Afara community in Mbaitoli council area of Imo have urged the Federal Government to expedite the purchase and installation of necessary equipment in the community’s health centre for easier access to healthcare.

The residents expressed their concerns while speaking with C – Advocate correspondent who went on a field visit to the community.

Mr Francis Onyenebo, a school teacher lamented the challenges faced by residents of the community as a result of their having to travel to distant locations to access medical care.

He thanked C-Advocate for taking the initiative to monitor the project and urged the Federal Government to hearken to calls for the equipping of the facility.

“ The construction of this health centre was started in year 2003 by the then member of the Federal House of Representatives , Mr Bethel Amadi, who is now late.

“ 20 years on, the structural designing has been completed but the facility remains ill equipped, leaving residents of the community with no choice than to travel to other communities to access healthcare “, he said.

Another resident, Mrs Florence Ugochukwu, said that lest for communal efforts and individual philanthropic gestures, minor equipment such as syringes and basic medicines would not have been provided.

She blamed the absence of medical personnel in the health centre on the dearth of equipment adding that this was largely responsible for the abandonment of the project by residents of the community.

Meanwhile, President-General of the community, Mr Tony Okoro, has called for the speedy purchase and installation of equipment at the community’s health centre.

He said that the the health centre, which construction began in year 2003 was “practically begging for completion “ as efforts by residents of the community to attract government attention to the project all proved abortive.

He mentioned three basic necessities at the health centre to include a generator set, borehole and solar light for security.

According to him, communal efforts had gotten a few items for the health centre but most of the equipment such as hospital beds, a sitting couch and delivery beds had yet to be purchased.

“ After some communal efforts, in a bid not to let the place go moribund, we leased it out to a private individual but that arrangement did not work as planned largely because of lack of equipment.

“ The entire Amaocha 1 and 2 travel all the way to a health centre in the Imo West senatorial district to access quality healthcare. This is regrettable “, he said.

C – Advocate reports that the sum of N23 million was awarded to the Centre for Basic Space Science, Nsukka, Enugu state, by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abuja, in year 2022 for the purchase and installation of equipment in the health center.

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