Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers has vowed to make the state a first choice medical tourism destination in Nigeria  and Africa.

Mr Fubara said this to journalists at the Government House in Port Harcourt while speaking on his administration’s modest achievements in the health sector since the assumption of office.

He explained that to achieve this, his administration was seriously paying greater attention to improving healthcare infrastructure.

The governor vowed to improve the services available to the people, particularly at the primary level, and to bridge observed gaps between the primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services in the state.

Mr Fubara emphasised that the ongoing reconstruction, rehabilitation, and upgrade of all primary healthcare facilities across the state would be integrated with existing secondary and tertiary institutions.

He said this was to deliver immediate but quality healthcare services to the people.

“The capacity of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) has been improved with training of personnel, establishment of critical units, and provision of modern equipment to deliver sterling and expert services to patients.

“We are also supporting the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital to perform optimally. Do not also forget the contributory healthcare insurance law that we have started implementing.

“I assure you that we will complete all the ongoing healthcare infrastructure projects that we have around the state,” he said.

Mr Fubara also identified some challenges frustrating the smooth delivery of healthcare services in the state and promised to tackle them.

He said some of the challenges are inadequate manpower, corruption, indiscipline, and ineffective management.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Adaeze Oreh, said that under Mr Fubara’s leadership, the state had experienced formidable strides in building a rigorous and robust primary healthcare system.

Ms Oreh noted the update and approval of implementation of the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme, the state’s health insurance scheme by Mr Fubara.

(NAN)