Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has reiterated his determination to bring quality and affordable health care services to the footsteps of the citizens of the state as well as achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Akeredolu declared this in his remark at the national workshop on Space Technologies and Health organised by the Centre for Atmospheric Research of the National Space Research and Development Agency( CAR- NASRDA), Ayingba and the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo
At the worksop held at the main auditorium of UNIMED, Akeredolu said that making health care delivery accessible to the people of Ondo State is a key objective of his health policy.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu, Akeredolu maintained that his administration has prioritised primary health care services and devoted substistial resources to school of public health and other components of the University of Medical Sciences as well as the associated Teaching Hospital.
“These facilities are ultimately crucial to the goal of developing critical manpower for the primary healthcare sector in the state,
” Despite the multiple waves of the Covid- 19 Pandemic that have significantly disrupted activities in all areas of our public life, our state institutions have continued to function to a very large extent. Academic activities in this University have only been minimally disrupted and events like this continue to take place under appropriate Covid- 19 mitigation protocols”
This according to Mr Governor is to the credit if the people of Ondo State in general and healthcare professionals ad well as the Covid- 19 Ministerial Committee that the State has been able to manage the situation at all level.
Akeredolu was of the believe that space technologies and health interact in many ways, added that one of the applications in space technologies which centres on the delivery of care to a patient at a distance site is of great important to him in the quest to make health care accessible to the most remote citizens in the state.
The Governor who observed that the objectives of the workshop which includes creating awareness of the relevance, importance and application of space dependent technologies in health and promoting the use of space – technological tools and innovations in medical and health sciences enjoined the participants to go a step further and come up with some tangible applications to the health Care system in the state and the country in general.
Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi in his welcome address pointed out that as the first specialized University of Medical and Health Science in Nigeria, the goal of the Institution is to be the first in quality of teaching and be at the forefront of cutting edge research and innovations, and be the example for other Universities in the transformative application if scientific knowledge and scholarly output to the improvement of the health and Development of the people and society.
Prof. Fatusi who revealed that there has been little national consciousness or focus on the potential application of space technologies to advance the health of our population, added that the partnership if the University and the Space Agency will provide an opportunity to learn about the current advances in space technology and their potential applications nationally and globally, including areas such as the use of geospatal technologies for primary healthcare delivery.
Fatusi therefore expressed his deep gratitude to Arakunrin Akeredolu, his government for the continued support of the University despite the challenging economical reality the state is facing and Dr Halilu Ahmad Shaba , the Director General and CEO of NASRDA for his collaboration and support for the workshop.