From Sade Adewale, Ondo
& Kehinde Oluwatayo

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University of Medical Sciences; Ondo has recorded another landmark achievement with full accreditation of its two courses.
The courses according to the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Adesegun Fatusi are Dentistry and Medical Laboratory Sciences.
Fatusi who made the disclosure during an interview with The Hope appreciated the state government, staff and partners of the institution for their support.
According to him, the institution can continue to operate in five years without limitation and graduate students till NUC will come again.
“Our dental programme is in its fifth year now. We had approval to start the programme but usually before you graduate your students, NUC must come and do your accreditation without which you cannot graduate students.
“But we can continue to operate in the next five years now without limitation. This is our accreditation time because before or upon your first graduation, you must get your accreditation”, he said.
Meanwhile, the institution has officially launched a ‘Maximally Community-Owned Primary Health Care Model’ at Okeigbo in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Addressing the gathering, Fatusi said the goal is to make universal healthcare available to all individuals in the community.
According to him, the model is the brainchild of the Institute of Community Health Innovation and Development, School of Public Health, UNIMED Ondo, in collaboration with the Ondo State Government and the Okeigbo community.
The event which was held at the Palace Hall, Okeigbo had in attendance public health experts from different parts of the country who joined the event virtually.
The VC noted that Nigeria has toyed with the idea of primary health care in the country for many years with little success because of the lack of community ownership.
“The truth is that if it is not owned by the community, it is no primary health care. It must be a health service that people can afford, and the community can run. That is the only way we can sustain primary health care. The fact that we as a people can take our own lives in our hands and propel our idea by our imagination and commitment, that is the way to sustain primary health care in our country,’ the VC stated.
The Oluoke of Okeigbo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Lawrence Oluwole Babajide appreciated the management of the University for choosing Okeigbo as the first beneficiary of the model.
He called on people of the community to give all necessary support to ensure the success of the programme.
The Acting Director of the Institute of Community Health Innovation and Development, of the institution and former Executive Secretary, Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Olugbenga Osunmakinwa said the programme is aimed at complementing the effort of the State Government in ensuring that good health care is attainable for all, especially for those in the rural community.
He said the University is partnering with the Ondo State Ministry of Health and the community in the provision of manpower and other facilities to provide door-to-door health care services to the people of the Okeigbo community.
One of the eggheads of UNIMED School of Public Health, a Professor of Disciplinary Public Health and Community Medicine and a specialist in Population and Clinical Epidemiology and Occupational Health, Prof. Micheal Asuzu described the event as laudable saying the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo is shaping healthcare policies to advance public health locally.
In a goodwill message on the occasion, the Permanent Secretary, Ondo State Ministry of Health, represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr Uche Odionyenma noted that primary health care is the first contact someone has with the health system when there is heath problem.
Odionyenma said that the existing primary health care structure is being used as a vehicle for the delivery of the project.
A Member of the UNIMED Governing Council who joined the event virtually, Prof. Tolu Odugbemi, OON, described the event as a remarkable starting point in effective standard primary health care delivery in Okeigbo kingdom.