TheCable

Nasir Idris, governor of Kebbi, has inaugurated a 100-bed Mother and Child Hospital in Tsamiya, Bagudu LGA of the state.

The governor, on Wednesday, inaugurated the health facility built by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs).

Idris commended President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the health sector through several initiatives and, most especially, the input of the Office of the Sustainable Development Goals.

He said the project was apt as it would drastically reduce child and maternal mortality within the council and, by extension, the neighbouring country, Benin Republic.

The governor hailed the Office of the SSA for embarking on the project. According to him, Bagudu is the biggest local government in Kebbi state and densely populated.

Idris said the state government would provide quarters to medical personnel and nurses to complement the efforts of the federal government.

Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, senior special assistant to the president on Sustainable Development Goals, said the facility is one of the many Mother and Child Centres constructed and fully equipped by the OSSAP-SDGs across the country.

“Let me from the outset appreciate President Tinubu for his sterling leadership and commitment to working closely with sub-national governments to deliver key interventions to fast-track the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria. In the same vein, I would like to most sincerely thank Governor Nasri Idris for his unwavering commitment to the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria and our collective desire to achieve the SDGs in Nigeria,” she said.

According to her, the SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, safeguard the planet and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity by the year 2030.

“It is pertinent to note that the SDGs cannot be achieved with standalone policies and programmes. They must be carefully integrated into our medium and long-term national and sub-national development policies and plans. It is in recognition of this that we are supporting the 36 states and the FCT on SDG-Based Development Planning,” Orelope-Adefulire said.

“Based on President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, we are committed to prioritising key interventions with multiplier effects on multi-dimensional poverty, such as basic healthcare, vocational skills development and education provisioning. With COVID-19 pandemic challenging our healthcare system, strategic interventions, such as the Mother and Child Centre, have become imperative. Indeed, the primary and secondary effects of COVID-19 pandemic could reverse decades of human development gains and undermine the achievement of the SDGs, unless immediate action is taken and sustained. This is what we are doing right here in Tsamiya, Kebbi state.

“Thus, the 100-Bed Mother and Child Centre (MCC), Tsamiya, is equipped with state-or-the-art facilities. They include among others – Two Operating Theatres; Recovery Rooms; Private and General Wards; Scanning Room; Consultation Rooms and Laboratory. Others include, Ultra-Scan Machine; Vacuum Extractor delivery set; and an Emergency Cart with full compliments. The MCC is directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘Quality Health and Well-being for all’, as well as other cross-cutting SDGs.”