Obaseki pledges sustained investment in healthcare as WHO lauds COVID-19 response

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has pledged sustained development of the state’s healthcare system even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) commended his administration’s response to the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Mulombo, gave the commendation when he visited the governor at the Government House, Benin City.
Receiving the WHO delegation, Governor Obaseki promised that his administration would continue to prioritise the health of residents and ensure provision of quality and affordable healthcare services to Edo people.

“COVID-19 revealed a lot to us, I personally did not realise how broken our healthcare system in Nigeria was until outbreak of COVID-19. I decided to chair the COVID-19 Response Team, while my deputy, Philip Shaibu, headed the technical sub-committee.

“That gave us direct access to the healthcare system, even though we had started some reforms; we knew that we had to fix the system. We were restructuring the primary healthcare system, putting a new management structure in place but didn’t know that the substructure on which we were laying these reforms are weak,” he said.

“For us, COVID-19 was the opportunity to interact directly with the system. That was how we built capacity within government to help regulate and stabilise the healthcare system,” he stated.

Responding, Mulombo said: “I congratulate you on your successful re-election. It is a testimony that you are impacting the lives of Edo people and I commend you for your approach in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am sure that other states would be looking at the way you have been driving the health agenda in the state. I have also been following up on the way you have been leading the COVID-19 response in Edo State.”