Abia State Government has said that it is currently reconstructing three specialist hospitals in the state to meet international standards.
The State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, who made this disclosure while addressing journalists in Umuahia, explained that the specialist hospitals would be installed with some modern innovations as seen abroad.
Prince Kanu, who briefed journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, disclosed that the state governor, Dr Alex Otti, has directed the relevant departments to ensure that the solar power project at the SDG hospital located in Ugwunagbo is operationalised immediately, adding that with the directive, the hospital staff and patients would experience constant power supply.
He used the opportunity to disclose that the government has approved the implementation of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure
(CONHESS) for Local Government workers in the state.
The approval of the CONHESS, he said, is part of the ongoing reforms in Abia State Civil Service.
His word, “The state government continues to prioritise workers’ welfare and conditions of service of its workforce.
“This commendable move makes Abia State one of the few states in the country that pays the federal government Consolidated Health Salary Structure”.
He disclosed that the functionalisation of the second batch of 52 renovated and equipped Primary Health Cares (PHCs) is in progress across the state.
“This brings the total number of functionalised PHCs to 102. The remaining 98 PHCs will be fully renovated and equipped before the end of the year.
“In the same vein, 50 or more out of the 79 World Bank Impact PHCs will be fully renovated and equipped before year-end.
“Similarly, by the end of the year, it is hoped that a total of 250 PHCs or more will have been fully renovated and equipped for use by Abians in the state”, the commissioner declared.
Abia citizens, he explained, are patronising the PHCs in line with the governor’s vision for the health sector, even as he announced that the state government is collaborating with world-class hospitals in Sweden and other global health institutions on a number of medical outreach programmes in the state.
“Some of the outreach programmes are as follows. The first is the one involving the Ministry and ProHealth International. That medical outreach will commence on the 16th of this month and end on the 22nd of the month.
“The second outreach involves Abia Diaspora Medical Outreach Group, and this will be held between the 12th and 19th of December 2025. The third one is the AMPA Abia Medical Outreach, and this will be held in April 2026.
“The last but not least is the one involving Abia State and the Swedish Global Health Outreach. This will be held in May 2026”, he said.
On the recruitment of health workers by the government, Kanu maintained that the recruitment portal for the recruitment has been reopened, adding that vacancies exist for ophthalmologists, medical officers, dental officers, as well as part-time and full-time consultants.