Abia to benefit from $250m grant on health security in Nigeria

…As ANPA begins medical mission

Abia State Government has been cleared by the World Bank to benefit from a USD250 million grant on health security in Nigeria.

Okey Kanu, Abia state Commissioner for Information, disclosed the news on Monday at Government House Umuahia, while briefing journalists on the outcome of the week’s State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti.

He attributed the development to the ongoing reforms of Governor Otti in the health sector of the state.

“Abia State Government has been cleared by the World Bank to benefit from a $250 million grant on health security in the country.

“The ongoing reforms of the government in the health sector helped to qualify Abia State as one of the beneficiary states of the grant,” Kanu stated.

He hinted that the Rural Emergency Services and Maternal Transport Programme of the Federal Government has been domesticated in the state.

Kanu said that the programme commenced with three local government areas of Bende, Obingwa and Ukwa East reputed to have the highest maternal mortality rates in the state.

“The major objective of the programme is to provide access to emergency care in order to reduce maternal, child and neonatal mortality”, Kanu stated

He informed that the 2026 version of the Abia ANPA Medical Mission would officially commence on, Tuesday, April 14th, 2026.

“The opening ceremony is scheduled to hold at the Michael Okpara Auditorium by 10 am, and the target for this year’s mission is 1,500 consultations and 100 specialised surgeries.

“The consultations and surgeries will be performed at the Aba General Hospital, while the eye care patients will be attended to at Abia Specialist and Diagnostic Centre, here in Umuahia.

“And issues of sexuality and reproductive health will be attended to at Ogbonnaya Onu PolytechnicAba,” Kanu said.

He said that the health sector reforms of the Abia State Government recently received a boost when a World Bank team visited the state to review the public finance department system that concerns the health sector of the state.

Kanu added that the team commended the governor for his single-minded approach towards the reform of the Abia State health sector.

He noted that since the inception of the administration in 2023, the government has ensured that it consistently earmarked 15 per cent of its annual budget to the health sector, a development that has not gone unnoticed both within and outside the country.

Kanu stated that during the period under review, there were no reports of diseases of public health importance in the state, such as Lassa fever, M-pox, diphtheria, yellow fever, cholera and redness.

He revealed that the result of the oral interview for the Batch Two of the candidates for teachers recruitment exercise, who were shortlisted after the CBT that held recently was being compiled, and all the successful candidates would be communicated in due course.

“Over 7,280 candidates scored above 40% in the CBT test. And in line with the standards of the transparent process and fairness of the recruitment process in the state, everybody will be given a fair chance based on their performance,” Kanu stated.

He stated that the Abia State Accelerated Basic Education Programme, aimed at running the six-year primary school curriculum in three years, has commenced.

He noted that the Agency for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education was responsible for the programme and wishes that all Abia residents, who could not conclude their basic education should take advantage of the opportunity to sit and obtain their First School Leaving Certificate in the state.

He said: “Abia State happens to be one of the states that is running this programme for those who missed out in their early years and did not have the opportunity to obtain their First School Leaving Certificate. So this programme makes it possible for all such people to take advantage of this programme.”