The Enugu State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi, in his office, listening to the President, Enugu Chapter of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), Joe Mazeli (standing), and the International President, NAS (in white), Dr. Joseph Oteri, at the weekend
By Tony Adibe
The Enugu State Ministry of Health has elected to go into partnership with the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), otherwise known as Pyrates Confraternity, over the health needs of mothers and children.
Speaking at the weekend in Enugu, when the International President of NAS, Dr Joseph Oteri and his delegation visited him in his office, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi, said: “One of the biggest strengths of the Enugu health sector and the ministry of health is partnership.”
Dr Obi also said, “The truth is that government cannot do it alone. It is welcome to always have members of the public in associations or elsewhere, who have the health interest of the populace at heart.”
Dr. Obi, who harped on the crucial nature of maternal and child healthcare, said, “There is almost no way you would intervene in the health sector without touching the health of mothers and children.
“If you improve blood services, you are touching on mother and childcare, especially because one of the biggest threats that even kill mothers during childbirth is blood loss. So, having access to blood that can easily be replaced when a mother needs blood is a huge help to the maternal and childcare section.”
He praised the commitment of NAS for its medical interventions and outreaches in the state and said that “it is a beautiful thing to have a collection of men from diverse professional backgrounds to show such a deep interest on health matters.
“We welcome this partnership with NAS on the issue of improving healthcare indices in general in Enugu, and most importantly, indices of mothers and children in Enugu, and the possibility of other collaborations.”
The commissioner urged NAS to use the opportunity of the partnership and come up with ideas on specific areas demanding the attention of the ministry, “to enable us to work to achieve the bigger objectives. We would always listen.
“We in the ministry are the ones who will interact with those who will help us to forge ahead and achieve the objectives of the best health care for citizens of the state.”
According to him, beyond “the area of maternal and child health, the interactions we have already had, we can continue to identify, refine and fine-tune areas where efforts can be made to improve the things we can in Enugu.”
But emphasising the interests of NAS on health care delivery, especially in the state, the President, Enugu chapter of NAS, Joe Mazeli explained that, “our free medical missions have seen us within the last quarter visit the Enugu Correctional Centre and Abakpa Health Centre, for free medical check-ups and we administered routine drugs to patients and inmates.
“We also have a partnership with the National Blood Service Agency, Enugu Centre, where we occasionally carry out free blood donations.”
