Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Plateau State Chapter has honoured a former governor and Senator representing Plateau South Senatorial District, Simon Lalong with an award for his contributions to healthcare development in the state.
The award was presented to him during the Maiden NMA Business Coalition for Health Summit held in Jos.
The NMA Chairman, Kumtap Cashmir said Senator Lalong is being recognised for his passion and commitment to healthcare development.
He said Senator Lalong in addition to other things he did in the health sector during his tenure as governor, decided to reconstruct the administrative block of Shendam General Hospital under his constituency projects.
While accepting the award, the former governor appreciated the NMA for honouring him with an Award of Service and recognising his modest contributions to the health sector in the state.
He said since the award and recognition came when he had have left office, it shows that some of the steps his administration took were in the right direction and still impacting the society positively.
He recalled that when he came on board as governor, he inherited abandoned projects including health infrastructure started as far back as the administration of Governor Joshua Dariye. Rather than toe the line of politics and further ignoring them, he decided to complete the projects, some inherited at foundation level and others at barely 20-30 percent.
Senator Lalong explained that after signing into law the Bill establishing Plateau State Specialist Hospital, his administration revamped it by improving infrastructure and acquiring state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment which include Superstar MRI Machine; 64 Slices CT Scanner; 4D-Ultrasound Scanner and Digital X-Ray Machine among others which were commissioned by former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.
According to him, his administration went ahead to create other supporting agencies such as the State Primary Health Care Board, PLASCHEMA and the Plateau Drugs and Medical Commodities Management Agency to strengthen institutional capacity for providing quality healthcare to the people.
He said as a senator, he has continued to push ahead with touching the lives of my constituents as he recently commissioned the reconstructed Admin Block of the Shendam General Hospital which was done under his Constituency Projects as well as inspected the Muhammadu Buhari 100 Bed Mother and Child Hospital located at Gidan Dabat, Kwande in Quaan’Pan LGA, a project he attracted.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang who also received an award, said the state government is doing a lot to inject resources into healthcare and also improve it’s national standing in health indices.
The governor commended Senator Lalong for renovating the administration block of Shendam General Hospital and working with other legislators for the interest of Plateau.
