Edo Govt Boosts COVID-19 Response as Obaseki Commissions 4th Molecular Laboratory
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Friday, commissioned the fourth coronavirus (COVID-19) molecular laboratory to boost testing capacity and in order to further contain the disease in the state.
Commissioning the testing facility at Lily Hospital in Benin City, Obaseki said, “the Lily molecular laboratory is the first privately owned PCR laboratory in the South-South region of the country. Several investments have continued to flood the state following the conducive environment created in the state. Lily Hospital has invested in a molecular laboratory that has the capacity to test for COVID-19.”
The governor said, the Government can’t be in competition with private businesses as healthcare is both an economic and a social good.
He added: “as a government, we will continue to encourage private people to come and invest in healthcare in Edo State. Our goal is to make Edo State the healthcare hub of this region. Our emphasis as a government is on primary healthcare”.
The governor promised that the bulk of resources spent on healthcare would be spent in ensuring that there is one healthcare centre within a 5-to-10km radius of where people live, which will deal with basic illnesses and help citizens understand their health status.
According to him, the government would also be investing in specialized care centres. He stressed that, the Edo Specialist Hospital would be expanded with the help and support of the private sector.
The Governor hinted that the government under his leadership is rebuilding the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which is currently used as an isolation centre, and by the end of the pandemic disease, the hospital would be converted to a full scale specialist hospital.
He summarized that Edo is setting the pace as the state has all that it takes to be the medical hub in this country. He added that there are very few states that can boast of the quality and quantity of medical personnel that are available in Edo. He concluded that, what has been lacking is the encouragement, which the present administration’s policies will continue to give by encouraging people to bring in their resources to invest in the state and provide services for the benefit everyone.
On his part, Chairman Board of Directors at Lily Hospital, Prof. Joseph Ana, thanked the Obaseki-led administration for creating the right atmosphere for investors in the state and commended the role played by the governor in ensuring that the project was realised.
Daniel E. Ejodamen
(FIC, Benin City).
