Governor Alex Otti has said that Abia is ready to collaborate with the Abia Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas on a structured long-term framework to strengthen healthcare delivery.

Mr Otti said this on Tuesday at the official opening of the 2026 ANPA Medical Mission, a five-day medical outreach held in Umuahia. He said he had directed the health commissioner, Enoch Uche, and his team to engage ANPA in a structured, long-term partnership framework.

According to him, the Abia government wants ANPA involved in the entire spectrum of healthcare delivery in the state, including telemedicine, remote consultations and the soon-to-be-launched digital health services portal.

“The overarching goal is to improve the health and well-being of our people through regular medical support initiatives, especially for vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, newborns and infants,” the governor said.

He described quality healthcare delivery as a critical foundation for economic prosperity and human development.

“At the centre of our development framework is the holistic welfare of the human population. Everything we have done in the last 35 months is driven primarily by the desire to enhance the social and economic experiences of our people, improve their productive capacity and effectively position them into a new era of prosperity,” Mr Otti said.

He said that infrastructure development would only be meaningful when directly linked to the broader objective of expanding opportunities for citizens.

“We do not make a distinction between the health of the people and the prosperity of the economy, for they are one and the same. Health, as we see it, is also economics because it is tied to the productivity of the population, guides investment decisions and ultimately promotes long-term household and public sector prosperity,” he said.

Mr Otti said that this informed the state government’s decision to consistently allocate 15 per cent of its budgetary provisions to the health sector, in line with the Abuja Declaration benchmark.

He commended ANPA for returning to Abia for its 2026 medical mission, barely two years after its previous outreach in the state. He described the association as a reliable development partner committed not only to providing medical relief to residents but also to strengthening local healthcare workers’ capacity through training and mentorship.

(NAN)