By Oswald Agwu
The Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team programme in Ebonyi State has been domiciled in the office of the Commissioner for Grants and Donor Agencies.
The programme which hitherto was under the supervision of the State Ministry of health was on Saturday handed over to the Ministry of Grants and Donor Agencies by Governor David Umahi when he received in audience the AMURT group led by its Global Executive Director, Peter Sage, at the Government House, Abakaliki.
The governor also directed the domiciling of all primary health care delivery services in the office of Grants and Donor Agencies.
The governor who commended AMURT for all their humanitarian services in the state, appealed to them to expand their services to the area of education with particular reference to the many out-of-school children in the state.
He admonished that rather than increasing the number of primary healthcare centres in the state, AMURT should collaborate with the concerned ministry to acquire, own, manage as well as properly equip existing ones for effective health services.
He observed that the issue of ghost workers and those with multiple employments had remained a great challenge to the State’s health and other sectors and directed the appropriate authorities to investigate and submit for prosecution all ghost workers in the state.
He assured AMURT of the state’s full partnership and total support to achieve excellence in their services in the state.
Umahi said: “And I want to officially domicile this programme in the office of the Commissioner for grants and donor Agencies
“I want you to look into their affairs, study their challenges, encourage and partner with them so that they can do more.
“And I assure them that whatever assistance they want from us, we will surely do that.
“I want also to domicile the entire primary health care delivery in the office of grants and donor.
“From today, the entire primary health care and the health centres will now be under the office of the Commissioner for grants and donor.
“I want the Commissioner for health, that of donor agencies and the Local government chairmen to bring out the ghost workers for prosecution: I want to prosecute them.
“And I want to appeal to AMURT that instead of constructing new health centres, why don’t they take over the existing ones, own them and manage them.
“I also want to appeal that the financial base of Ebonyi be expanded, even if it means going to Washington to plead, I will do that.
“We really need help.
“The statistics of out of School Children in Ikwo, Izzi, Ohaukwu is so alarming and when you move down to the remotest parts, people are really suffering.
“That is why I am interested in opening up the roads so that they can move, sell their farm produce and have a better life.
“Let us evaluate all the primary health centres and seek ways to improve their facilities and health care delivery services.”
Stating their mission earlier, Sage said they were on the visit to interface with the State government, seek partnership and further collaboration towards advancing their humanitarian activities in the State.
He chronicled some of the achievements of AMURT in the State to include free surgeries, ambulance services, provision of rural water and sanitation facilities; economic empowerment and assistance to indigents, among others
According to him, some primary healthcare facilities through their assistance has been upgraded to secondary healthcare centres with 24 hr consultancy services in rural communities, while over thirty six villages have received rural water and sanitation projects within the period.
He further explained: “We are determined to extend our primary healthcare services to the most rural areas in Ebonyi state, but now we have only nine model primary healthcare centres.
U”By our sponsorship, many special free surgeries had been performed on many children and women with special needs in our bid to combat infant and maternal mortality.
“We offer more than 400 ambulance services at present and we are still acquiring more for medical services to rural communities, among others.”
Sage however, noted that relationship with the Government was key to their achievements and expressed optimism that the State would adopt their model for primary healthcare services.
AMURT is a global humanitarian Organisation which arrived Nigeria in 2010. It’s major objective is to improve the quality of life for the poor and disadvantaged people of the World and those affected by calamity and conflict.
Ebonyi was selected as its first project area because of the State’s then high rate of infant and maternal mortality.
