FCT Launches Renewed Hope Medical Palliative

By: Wisdom Acka

The FCT Administration, Wednesday, launched the Renewed Hope Medical Palliative initiative to continue to positively touch the lives of residents.

Speaking during the launch of the programme at Gwarinpa General Hospital, Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, explained that it was a well thought out initiative by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to take care of health needs of pregnant women and other vulnerable persons in the FCT.

According to her, eligible persons, who would benefit free healthcare for one month, would be those within this social bracket, who have already registered or would register with the FCT Health Insurance Scheme.

She added that the FCT Administration has already fashioned out modalities on identifying truly vulnerable persons in the society, who are targeted for the medical palliatives.

Addressing pregnant women at the ante-natal ward of the hospital, the Secretary, along side the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammaf Ali Pate, announced that all those who were present were entitled to free one-month medical treatment.

Regretting that health needs of the vulnerable persons in society was no more priority, Fasawe added that that would no more be a challenge as their health needs would be taken up by the government for one month; allowing them to channel their little earnings into other needs like feeding and payment of school fees among other.

Another benefit of the initiative, according to her, was the elimination of fake drugs in the system and tackling of corruption as the FCTA’s medical digital system with electronic prescription would ensure all drugs were accounted for at anytime and abuses prevented.

Earlier, the Health Minister stated that the health and well-being of Nigerian people was very central to the President’s agenda for Nigeria.

Prof. Pate hailed the FCT Minister for taking a step forward by launching the Renewed Hope Medical Palliative; saying it would improve the over all well-being of Nigeria.

The Health Minister stressed that taking care of pregnant women was akin to taking care of Nigeria’s future, because children born today would become leaders of tomorrow, who would become healthier by virtue of the support.

Pate stated that the medical palliative was the first of its kind in Nigeria being launched in the FCT, even as he encouraged the 36 states of the federation to key into the programme and copy what the FCT was doing.

The Health Minister also disclosed that he had earlier inaugurated National Emergency Medical Transportation Committee and Rural Emergency Ambulance System in the Federal Ministry of Health to bring emergency care for pregnant women across Nigeria.