No fewer than 50,000 persons would be captured in the first phase of the free health mission initiated by Governor Kayode Fayemi.
Speaking in Ikere -Ekiti at the flag-off of the quarterly free health mission, the Governor said he would provide the leadership required to stop the “sobering decline in Ekiti State health indices from 2016 to 2018”.
Fayemi, who expressed determination to ensure that the state does not lag behind in the delivery of quality and effective health care service, said the goal of his government is to ensure that Ekiti State “regains its place in the comity of states by reworking our health system to deliver improved health indices as marker of a healthy society.
“In Ekiti State as at 2018, mortality rate among children was 49 deaths per 1,000 population in the first month of life; there were 69 deaths per 1000 in the first year of life while it is 86 deaths in the first five years of life of the children.
“Ekiti State skilled birth attendants also dropped from being the first in the southwest region in 2015 now to being the 5th in position among the southwest States”, Fayemi said.
While speaking on the free health mission, the Governor said the programme is a vehicle to expand access to basic health interventions that have been proven to improve the health of women of reproductive age and children.
Fayemi, who administered immunization to some babies at the programme said no fewer than 50,000 Ekiti residents would have received free healthcare services in the first phase of the programme; noting that over 500,000 people participated in the mission during his first tenure as governor between 2010 and 2014.
“By the account from the first 2 days of this mission, we believe that by the end of this first phase, we would have been able to serve over 50,000 residents of Ekiti State. This mission is a first instalment of a revolutionary health programme portfolio that will ensure that healthcare can be delivered quantitatively and sustainably”, he said.
