In line with the administration’s promise to reverse the flow of medical tourism and position Enugu State as the preferred destination for business, investment, tourism, and living, the Enugu State Government has announced that it is embarking on the construction of a 300-bed, ultramodern quaternary health facility to be known as the Enugu International Hospital.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Emmanuel Obi, disclosed this at the end of the Enugu State Executive Council, EXCO, meeting presided over by Governor Peter Mbah at the weekend.
Briefing Government House correspondents, Prof. Obi said that besides providing excellent and highly specialised medical services, the Enugu International Hospital, situated in the heart of Enugu city, would equally serve as a citadel of medical research and training.
“This means that tomorrow is finally here in the health sector because primary healthcare is being addressed, secondary healthcare is being addressed, tertiary healthcare is also being addressed.
“Now we are going to add quaternary healthcare to the scope, which simply means that an extension of tertiary care and advanced levels of medicine, which are highly specialised and not widely accessed, will be available in Enugu in no distant time. So, medical tourism will reverse our environment.
The Enugu International Hospital is going to come up at Rangers Avenue. So, it will be centrally located in Enugu and easily accessible from the international airport.
“It will be the type of place that will give excellent medical services, including research and training. It will be that type of hospital that people will no longer have any reason to leave the shores of Nigeria for healthcare,” Prof Obi stated.
The Commissioner also informed that the meeting discussed measures to control the Mpox disease, previously known as Monkeypox, which he explained had become a major international concern. He added that EXCO directed a scale-up of an awareness campaign on the disease.
“Mpox has now become a disease of public health of international concern, and the government of Enugu State has had discussions on how to ensure that effective surveillance, control, and prevention of any upsurge of Mpox in the state will be put in place.
“The Ministry of Health is, therefore, working with the other health sector players, including the Akanu Ibiam International Airport’s Port Health Services, to ensure that Enugu citizens are aware, safe, and minimise their exposure to the Mpox,” the Commissioner concluded.
In another development, the government also announced the constitution of a broad-based committee to accelerate the implementation of the Enugu State Geological Information System Service Law 2024.
Briefing Government House correspondents, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kingsley Udeh, said the intent was also to enhance the value of land holding in Enugu State. Those who own a flat in the city or a piece of land in the village will be able to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy to make their property bankable because the entire state would be captured digitally.
“With the implementation of the Enugu State Geographic Information System, the era of applying for a Certificate of Occupancy, which will take months to handle, will be a thing of the past because everything about land administration in the state will be managed digitally and electronically. This is a high-end technology, and we are not discussing what is far-fetched but what is already being implemented. So, EXCO approved strengthening and expediting the implementation.
“So, it will be fully on stream and operational very soon. This will transform not just land holding and administration but also everything that relates to data concerning land. And all these are geared towards the Governor’s vision to eradicate poverty and also connected to growing our GDP from $4.4bn to $30bn,” Udeh stated.