Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Tuesday lauded the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for establishing oxygen plant and baby care unit in General Hospital Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of the State meant to deepen quality healthcare delivery in the State.
Governor Mohammed, who made the commendation at the award ceremony, tagged, “Father’s of Good Health”, held at Bauchi State Banquet Hall, noted hat the State Government was eagerly waiting for the hand-over and inauguration of the two health facilities.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this very important occasion of the Award for “Fathers of Good Health”. As the name suggests the occasion is specially organized to honour, men who have made significant contributions to the improvement of Child Health in the State by mobilizing their communities to ensure that no child is left unimmunized.
“I would like to congratulate today’s recipients of the awards and to re-emphasize that the reward for hard work is more work.
“It would be recalled that “Fathers of Good Health” Support initiative began as a pilot project in Misau and Ningi Local Government Areas with 340 volunteers in all the wards. The initiative has now been expanded to four (4) Local Government Areas, with a plan to further expand it to all Local Governments of the State.
“It is our belief that this intervention will go along way in improving vaccine acceptance and encourage household decision-makers to actively engage in mobilizing other men in their communities to ensure that all children receive vaccinations in our communities.
“Bauchi State Government is ever ready to support any intervention aimed at strengthening our health system, especially for the improvement of the lives and well-being of women and children. Indeed, our administration has placed high premium on the health sector by investing in infrastructure and equipment, apart from being committed to meeting the obligations of MoU arrangements with development and donor partners, in spite of the dwindling resource and multi-sectoral demands in governance”
“The State Government has continued to sustain a 15 percent allocation to the health sector. In order to provide maximum health services and ensure effective productive system in our health facilities, the Bauchi State Government has recently introduced the State Emergency Transport System and Ambulance services to facilitate easy transportation of patients in both urban and hard to reach communities in the State”, he said.
Earlier, Nuzhat Rafique, Physician and Chief at the UNICEF Field Office, commended Governor Bala Mohammed for his dedication to healthcare development, emphasising that the initiative was a brainchild of UNICEF designed to encourage and facilitate effective immunisation coverage and quality healthcare services, especially for infants and babies.
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