The Abia State Government (ABSG) has recorded significant achievements in the health sector, emerging as the South-East champion and ranking among the top six states nationwide in the 2025 Primary Healthcare (PHC) Leadership Challenge.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the Government House, Umuahia, on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
Prince Kanu attributed the achievements to sustained investments in the health sector, noting that the state has consistently allocated 15 per cent of its budget to health over the last three budget cycles. He added that facility upgrades, strengthened health data systems, and continuous training of health workers have contributed immensely to the successes recorded.
According to him, the PHC Leadership Challenge is a peer-review programme instituted by Nigerian Governors to assess and benchmark the performance of states in primary healthcare delivery.
“This is a peer-review programme by Governors to evaluate how well they are performing in their states with regard to primary healthcare. Abia State emerged the South-East champion and ranked among the top six states nationwide,” he said.
Prince Kanu further revealed that the state won a prize of $500,000, which is equivalent to about ₦750 million, describing the award as a clear validation of the transformative health sector reforms under Governor Alex Otti’s administration.
The Information Commissioner also announced the successful conclusion of the 2025 Global Medical Outreach, which took place from December 15 to 20 across five centres in the state. He said the outreach provided over 3,000 free medical services, including eye and other surgical procedures, with 120 patients benefiting from surgeries.
In addition to free medical services, Prince Kanu disclosed that 62 health workers in the state were trained in Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, receiving certifications from the American Heart Association.
“One of the very remarkable outcomes of the medical outreach is that 62 health workers were trained in basic life support and advanced cardiovascular life support, with American Heart Association certification,” he stated.
He further announced that another free medical outreach, a collaborative initiative between the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and the Abia State Government, is scheduled to hold from January 7 to 12, 2026. The programme will be conducted across seven adopted primary healthcare centres in the state and will also feature free training for health workers at the Federal Medical Centre Chapel, Umuahia.
Prince Kanu equally disclosed that the second phase of Project Ekwueme would commence early next year, following the renovation, retrofitting, and functionalisation of 200 primary healthcare centres under the first phase, which has recorded over 90 per cent completion.
He explained that the project aligns with the state government’s broader agenda of renovating, equipping, and functionalising the 948 primary healthcare centres owned by the state.
The Commissioner noted that the government continues to partner with individuals and organisations to deliver quality and affordable healthcare to residents. He announced that a newly built and fully equipped primary healthcare centre donated by a prominent Abian, Chief James Umeh (Ike Abam), would be handed over to the state government on December 26, 2025, alongside 30 housing units for widows in the host community.
Prince Kanu also advised residents to eat and drink responsibly during the festive season, observe good hygiene practices, and avoid patronising quacks, fake drug vendors, and unauthorised medical outreaches.
On transportation, he announced that following the formal launch and handover of 20 mass transit buses, the Ministry of Transport is finalising operational details, assuring that all necessary infrastructure would be in place before the commencement of limited pilot operations.
Speaking further, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, said the recognition validates the far-reaching health sector reforms initiated by Governor Alex Otti. He explained that the award was based on 13 performance indicators, noting that Abia State led nationally in two key areas.
“Abia led nationally in the availability of essential medical commodities across primary healthcare centres, made possible by the ongoing renovation and functionalisation of PHCs. Secondly, the state ranked first nationally in data cleanliness and granularity,” Prof. Uche stated.
He assured that the Ministry of Health would intensify efforts in the coming year to clinch the top position, adding that Abia State is already ranked number one nationwide in the Health Preparedness Index.
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