By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
The women folk of Unenurhie community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have sent a strong verbal message to the governor of the state, Sen. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, urging him to complete without further delay the abandoned cottage hospital in their community to save them, especially nursing mothers and children, from health challenges and hazards confronting them as a result of lack of healthcare.
Addressing newsmen during a recent town hall meeting in the community, the women leader, Madam Rebecca Onuvworoma, urged the Delta State government to immediately come to their aid.
Hear her: “We, the women of this community are facing different health challenges and we need the government to come to our aid without delay. The Delta State government sometime 2017 awarded a cottage hospital to our community. As we speak, that cottage hospital is completely abandoned and left after roofing stage.
“Before now, we had a functional health centre, but without government facility to operate from. The health centre was in the community town hall since its inception until this year 2021, when the president-general of our community and his leadership thought it wise to move the health centre from the town hall after the community leadership had completed part of the cottage hospital.
“On behalf of the entire women in the community, we thank our president-general, Mr Peter Maison, for his selfless and sacrificial leadership.”
Also, spokeswoman of the women group, Mrs. Beatrice Abrucha said, “Like our leader said, our working president-general has done part of the abandoned cottage hospital with communal efforts for us. We thank him for that singular achievement.
“However, we are calling on our governor now through the ministry of Health to come and complete the cottage hospital and put it to use now. Health is an essential need of every citizen of this country. We voted for him to become the governor today. What has been our benefit as women in Okowa’s government?
“We are seriously begging him as a trained medical doctor and also as the governor of the state to listen to our cry and pains. He can even come for onsite inspection of the abandoned project. May be, the government had paid the money to the contractor, but he never came to site again. The government should always monitor its project execution. We need the cottage hospital as women.”