FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Edo State government said yesterday that 15 suspected cases of diphtheria disease had been recorded, with six infected and three dead.
The state is also responding proactively to emerging health concerns in the wake of the recent diphtheria outbreak.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Cyril Oshiomhole stated this while launching the state’s Rural Healthcare Initiative.
Oshiomhole disclosed that the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, had launched a statewide surveillance and vaccination campaign.
“We are not waiting for numbers to escalate before taking action. We are actively educating communities, administering booster doses and prioritising early intervention. Diphtheria is vaccine-preventable and we are doing everything to ensure that people understand this,” the commissioner said.
According to him, the administration has set in motion, one of the most robust and inclusive health reforms in the history of the state.
At the heart of this new direction is a grassroots-driven health insurance model that extends subsidised medical plans to rural dwellers who previously lacked access to even the most basic healthcare services.
These plans are designed not as charity, but as “sustainable social investments” that will serve as the financial foundation for revitalising primary healthcare centres across the state.
Oshiomhole disclosed that with a vibrant and well-funded health insurance scheme, we can fix our healthcare infrastructure and ensure that these facilities are operational, well-staffed and accountable.
He added that government is expanding insurance coverage and also investing heavily in public health education, infrastructural rehabilitation and human capacity development.
The commissioner announced that a team of health educators had been deployed to communities across the three senatorial zones, where they are engaging in direct, in-language sensitisation on hygiene, vaccination and general wellness practices.
He also disclosed that the health revolution also include strong partnership with the media to deepen public awareness, just as government is working closely with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and other media platforms to amplify health messages and encourage citizen participation.
