Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme, has called on the State Traditional Medicine Board to collaborate with the Primary Health Care Development Agency, government hospitals, and tertiary health institutions to reduce maternal and under-five mortality rates in the state.
Dr. Onojaeme made the appeal during a courtesy visit by the Board’s Chairman, Dr. Ogbogodor Ogumu and its members to his office on Tuesday in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
Dr. Onojaeme emphasized the need for synergy between the Traditional Medicine Board and healthcare institutions to tackle pressing health issues.
The Commissioner highlighted the state government’s commitment to healthcare, citing the recent procurement of two CT-scan machines for the State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, and the Warri Central Hospital, as well as the acquisition of eight dialysis machines distributed across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The Commissioner advised the Traditional Medicine Board to reach out to the appropriate authorities when faced with cases beyond their scope even as he promised to consider their request for a utility vehicle to enhance productivity.
Dr. Ogumu, while briefing the Commissioner on the Board’s efforts to enforce the annual renewal of operational licenses for traditional medicine practitioners, which according to him was aimed to sanitize the sector and boost revenue, expressed the Board’s loyalty to the Delta State Government under Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s leadership and appealed for assistance to overcome some of their challenges.
