The Executive Secretary of Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency (TSPHCDA), Alhaji Aminu Hassan and others have bagged awards for meritorious service from the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
Reports state that Hassan bagged the awards alongside the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Medical Centre and the Specialists Hospital, Jalingo, Dr Aishatu Adamu and Dr Felix Maiyangwa.
NAN reports that the presentation to the trio and eight others was the highlight of the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference of the NMA in Taraba on Monday.
The State Chairman of NMA, Dr Nkantah Edet, noted that the awardees were carefully selected for their various contributions to the growth of NMA and for their selfless service to humanity.
Edet urged them to continue to work for the general good of the people and especially for the growth of the health sector in the state and the country.
Speaking shortly after the award, Hassan who spoke on behalf of other recipients said that he was highly honoured to have been presented with the award and promised to work even harder for the good of the state and the health sector.
He noted that the Taraba PHCDA had undergone various positive transformations in the last few years under the watch of Gov. Darius Ishaku and assured that more policies would be put in place to ensure efficient service delivery.
“As you are aware, the Primary Health Care is the closest to the people and Gov. Ishaku had ensured that it is positioned to deliver fully on its mandate.
“In the past, a lot of people died avoidable deaths because of the weak primary health care centres. What the Governor did in the last couple of years has strengthened the sector for more effective and efficient service delivery.
“As we speak, plans are on ground to ensure that all the primary health care centres across all the 168 wards in the state are sustainably positioned for optimum service delivery so that the people don’t have to rush to the general hospitals or medical centres for issues that should be handled locally,’’ Hassan said.
He said that they were also using the primary health care centres as the hub for campaign for exclusive breastfeeding and family planning,
“As well as for COVID-19 prevention protocols and other health related campaigns at the grassroots because that is the only way we can reach out to the majority of the rural populace,” he said.
Reports state that the AGM and Scientific Conference with the theme: “COVID-19: Collateral Damage to the Skin” featured presentation which revealed that skin rashes could also be a symptom of COVID-19.