Soludo Hails ATASP-1 for Building State-of-the-Art Hospital in Anambra

Soludo praises ATASP-1 for constructing a top-notch hospital in Anambra

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has praised the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase One (ATASP-1) for having a significant positive influence on the state's rural areas. During the ceremonial opening of a state-of-the-art hospital constructed by ATASP-1 at Ogbunka Community in the Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Governor Soludo expressed his admiration.

The governor, accompanied by Dr. Forster Ihejiofor, Commissioner for Agriculture, praised ATASP-1, an agricultural sector development intervention program established by the federal government with funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), as a crucial ally in the state government's fight against insecurity, hunger, and unemployment.

He commended the ATASP-1 management for allocating billions of naira to infrastructure that facilitates large-scale modern farming, agro-processing, and raising rural farmers' standards of living. 

Ihejiofor expressed: “The truth is, when they brought the hospital equipment, I sent an engineer who is knowledgeable in hospital equipment to examine what was supplied to ensure it matched the specifications listed in the bid, and I am here attesting to the fact that this clinic is equipped to the global standard of a cottage hospital. A lot of things can be done here.”

He also said that medical personnel, particularly nurses, would be assigned to the facility to serve residents and those from nearby areas.

“We will work with the Ministry of Health to upgrade the staffing of the health centre to ensure that people from neighbouring towns like Ufuma, Nawfija, Inyi, Owerri-Ezukalla, and so on also take advantage of the facilities here for their medical treatments,” he stressed.

In his remarks at the event, Prince Neville Uchendu, the chairman of the Orumba South Transition Committee, also commended ATASP-1 for giving rural farmers in Ogbunka and the surrounding area access to a top-notch hospital.

“I want to thank the ATASP-1 team in a special way. You are doing wonderfully well because they don't say what they did not do. When the equipment for this hospital was offloaded, those that I sent to inspect it said that most general hospitals did not have the kind of equipment supplied at this clinic.

“Governor Chukwuma Soludo does not joke with anything that concerns the health and wellbeing of Ndi-Anambra, and the kind of equipment brought to this hospital is what he is preaching about,” the governor said, adding that the council would also coordinate with the Ministry of Health and other relevant parties to guarantee that the hospital was staffed with qualified medical professionals and that the building was secure.

He added that nurses in particular would be stationed at the facility to provide care for the inhabitants as well as those from the surrounding districts.

Dr. Romanus Egba, the Zonal Programme Coordinator of ATASP-1 Adani-Omor Zone, had earlier in his remarks expressed his happiness that the hospital had finally been given the go-ahead to start offering medical care to the local farmers.

"Governor Chukwuma Soludo does not joke with anything that concerns the health and wellbeing of Ndi-Anambra, and the kind of equipment brought to this hospital is what he is preaching about," the governor said, adding that the council would also coordinate with the Ministry of Health and other relevant parties to guarantee that the hospital was staffed with qualified medical professionals and that the building was secure.

“ATASP-1 discovered that farmers need certain social and economic infrastructure to improve their productivity. And access to quality healthcare enhances productivity. That is why we decided to build hospitals in communities that lack them so that farmers can easily be taken care of when sick. It's only when their condition requires specialist treatment that they can be referred to a general or specialist hospital.

He states that because Ogbunka is the only village covered by ATASP-1 where a hospital and water borehole were constructed in the same location, we encouraged local stakeholders to take full advantage of the resources.

“This hospital and water borehole built here present an opportunity for farmers in Ogbunka and neighbouring communities to enjoy good health and improved productivity. So, we expect that the facilities be maintained and utilised,” Egba emphasized, adding that the program was prepared to instruct and assist more farmers, particularly young ones, in the production of cassava and sorghum.

The Chairman of the Ogbunka Farmers Cooperative under ATASP-1, Mr. Gabriel Orie, was all praise for ATASP-1 and how it had changed the lives of Ogbunka's cassava farmers by providing input support and trainings on contemporary farming methods and food processing, particularly on how to make confections out of cassava flour.