COOUTH CMD Unveils Rebuilt Aguata Hospital, Pushes Grassroots Healthcare Boost

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku-Awka, Dr Maureen Umeakuewulu, has stressed the need for increased investment in strengthening health centres and community hospitals, particularly at the grassroots, to reduce maternal mortality and other avoidable deaths in Nigeria.
Dr Umeakuewulu made the call during the commissioning of the newly reconstructed male and female wards at Ajam Community Hospital, Ezinifite, in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The wards were reconstructed and equipped by the Aguata Local Government Authority under the leadership of the Mayor, Dr Chibueze Oforbuike.
According to the COOUTH CMD, Nigeria still contributes significantly to the global burden of maternal mortality and preventable deaths, noting that a large percentage of such deaths occur in homes and rural communities due to inadequate access to functional healthcare facilities.
She maintained that strengthening primary healthcare centres and community hospitals through the provision of adequate equipment, manpower, and support infrastructure would drastically reduce deaths occurring before, during, and after childbirth.
Dr Umeakuewulu observed that the importance of the project could not be overemphasized, adding that the effective functioning of the facility would significantly improve healthcare delivery and reduce maternal mortality in Ezinifite and neighbouring communities.
Highlighting the tripod of improved clinical services, personnel training, and research upon which her administration is anchored, the CMD noted that the revitalization of the community hospital aligns with the vision of the teaching hospital to establish an effective referral system across the state.
She assured that COOUTH would provide the necessary technical support and professional assistance to ensure that the facility operates optimally in delivering healthcare services to the people of Ezinifite and beyond.
She, however, emphasized that community members also have a vital role to play in safeguarding the facility and supporting healthcare personnel posted there.
“For community hospitals such as this to function maximally, there must be 24-hour doctor coverage to attend to emergencies. There must also be stable power supply, water, perimeter fencing, ambulance services, and other essential support systems that enable healthcare delivery.
“The administration of Prof Chukwuma Soludo is doing commendably well in the health sector. The administration of Dr Chibueze Oforbuike has also demonstrated commitment by restoring life to this facility. However, the people of Ezinifite must come together to ensure that this hospital functions optimally.
“At the teaching hospital, we regard this facility as one of our referral centres, and we are willing to do everything within our capacity to strengthen it for effective service delivery,” Umeakuewulu assured.
She further reiterated the commitment of the teaching hospital to partnering with communities and individuals to ensure that referral centres across the state remain functional and accessible.
Earlier in his remarks, the Mayor of Aguata LGA, Dr Chibueze Oforbuike, explained that the project was undertaken in response to concerns raised by members of the community over the dilapidated state of the hospital.
He said his administration considered the intervention necessary because of the critical role the facility plays in providing quality healthcare services to the people.
Dr Oforbuike noted that what his administration had done was only the beginning of a broader transformation process for the hospital, adding that the responsibility now lies with well-meaning indigenes of the community to further support and upgrade the facility.
According to him, the private-public-community partnership initiative championed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo remains the best approach to sustainable development, as the resources needed to transform the state are largely in the hands of citizens.
“When our attention was drawn to this facility and we came here, I was shocked by the level of decay we met on ground. That motivated us to commence and complete the project being commissioned today because this hospital has the potential to become a teaching hospital in the future.
“It is important to note that we did not only renovate a completely dilapidated structure, we also equipped it. However, what has been provided is still not enough.
“The message is for patriotic sons and daughters of Ezinifite to return home and invest in the wellbeing of their people. The town leadership must spearhead efforts to mobilize the resources required to make this hospital function at the level it ought to,” the Mayor stated.
Also speaking, a stakeholder in Aguata LGA, Chief Titus Anigbogu, re-echoed the need for high-net-worth individuals from Ezinifite to leave lasting legacies by contributing towards the total revitalization of the hospital.
In his vote of thanks, the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Bob Orji, expressed profound gratitude to the Aguata Local Government Authority for embarking on the project, which he described as a major priority for the community leadership.
Recalling that the hospital was originally built through communal self-help efforts by members of the community, the monarch said the revitalization of the facility by the local government holds immense significance for the people of Ezinifite.
Igwe Orji also commended the efforts of the COOUTH CMD, Dr Umeakuewulu, towards strengthening healthcare systems across the state, especially within rural communities, and prayed for greater success in her service to humanity.
The event also featured the enrollment of 120 indigenes of Ezinifite into the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA) scheme by the Aguata Mayor, Dr Oforbuike.