The Wife of the Ebonyi State Governor, Mrs Uzoamaka Nwifuru, has flagged off the distribution of twenty-six Motorcycles to thirteen Coordinators of Tuberculosis workers and their Deputies in the thirteen Local Government Areas of the State.
Performing the flag off ceremony at Iboko, Headquarters of the Izzi Local Government Area of the state to mark the grand finale of this year’s Womens’ August Meeting, Mrs. Nwifuru said the motorcycles would enhance the performance of the health workers in the detection, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis in the state.
The Ebonyi State First Lady, also inaugurated hepatitis B screening in the state. Mrs Nwifuru explained that hepatitis B attack the liver, while it could also lead to serious health complications if not detected and treated early.
She said, “just like tuberculosis which is an infectious disease that affects the lungs, hepatitis B attacks the liver, and could also lead to serious health complications if it was not diagnosed and treated early.”
The Governor’s wife therefore called on the wives of Local Government Chairmen in the state, join forces with her Pet Project, Better Life for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Persons, BERWO, to raise awareness of the diseases in their various localities.
Her words: “today we take a bold step towards the fight against hepatitis B and tuberculosis in all the communities in the thirteen Local Government Areas of this state, starting from my home town, Izzi. I am urging all Chairpersons to join me by ensuring that we play our part by spreading the message about tuberculosis and hepatitis B and encouraging our families and friends to do the same.”
Earlier in a remark, Ebonyi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Moses Ekuma said the motorcyles were donated by the Gobal Fund Partner, to enable the coordinators reach the nooks and crannies of the state, for them to sensitise the people on the need to report possible symptoms and distribute the drugs against tuberculosis in the remote areas.
According to the Commissioner, “we are going to ensure that we give it to the right people to go to the hinterland and ensure that they bring out people suffering from tuberculosis.”
Dr Ekuma described the governor’s wife as the
TB ambassador, adding that Governor Nwifuru’s administration has done a lot to change the health indices of Ebonyi State.
In a contribution, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Sabinus Nwibo observed that hepatitis is endemic in Ebonyi State. He, however, said that plans were underway, for the state government to take the sensitisation and screening to the rural communities.
“That is why the Governor has decided to give approval to this and has told us to sensitise the masses and to also go to various communities and carry out routine screening for us to fish out those that have it, take care of them and also give vaccines to those that don’t have it, to protect them.”
Dr. Nwibo appealed to Ebonyi residents to come out in their numbers for the screening exercise, in other to guarantee their good health.
He said the State Government plans to establish hepatitis research center where patients who tested positive to the disease would be taken care of.
In their separate remarks, the wife of Izzi Local Government Chairman, Mrs. Deborah Nwakpa and the Ebonyi state Commissioner for Aviation, Dr. Ngozi Obichukwu appreciated women in the state for making themselves available for the programme.
The event featured drama presentation, cultural dances and distribution of motorcycles, bags of rice and other items to the people.
