By Amaike Ihuoma Okoronkwo, Port Harcourt
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr. Agiriye Minima Harry, has called on residents and indigenes of Rivers State to take matters concerning their overall health seriously.
He made the call while receiving an award of excellence bestowed on him by the management and staff of St. Georgia Entrepreneurial And Development Schools Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
Dr. Harry maintained that due to the fact that Rivers State is a cosmopolitan state, the state government has never relented in their efforts to provide primary health care needs in the state.
He advised residents as well as the indigenes to make good use of the facilities so far provided by the state through the ministry and decried the decay at which some persons display signs of carelessness in the issues concerning health.
Presenting the Award on behalf of the schools’ management, the Coordinator of the school (SEDS), Mr Kingsley George, extolled the ministerial virtues of the Permanent Secretary and his ministry.
He said that women and children have had a good health care atmosphere under his ministerial prowess and that Rivers state had continued to provide adequate primary health care facilities within the time frame.
“We came to give you Kudos and encourage you to do more of your good work on the primary health care. Right now you are keeping the primary health care of the state very excellent and effective. What do I mean by this? I meant that there is never an area we have gone to or visited that we did not see primary health care facilities working and that is why we see it as necessary coming here to say thank you,” he said.
He used the opportunity to also thank the men and women working assiduously in the ministry whose joint effort and capacity has manifested.
In his response, Dr. Harry said, “Our indices show that we are really working aside from Lagos where we have a most robust health system in the country, we keep afloat even in these hard times we already know and we would keep trying.
“Because it is not going to end here yes the work continues, but the people should also make use of the facilities on ground. Because they go to church, mosque and visit native doctors and all that, they should endeavour to make use of the primary health care facilities already provided by the Rivers State Government for our health care services.
“We would grow from strength. Health should be given its priority so that we remain healthy.”
However, it is on record that the World Malaria Day celebrated on April 25th shows clear evidence that the prevalence on mother and child cases in Rivers State was not on the increase.
The State Ministry of Health had promised to continue in their giant strides to reduce child mortality rate and pregnancy related cases within the state and even beyond.
Therefore, the Permanent Secretary award stands commendable.