*5th Anniversary of Ed
By Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has urged leaders on thorough understanding of the people’s healthcare needs, and a strong determination to pursue necessary changes despite opposition, noting that the achievements made over the last five years by the Edo Specialist Hospital has so far transcended expectations, showcasing the effectiveness of public-private partnerships.
The Governor noted that the hospital embodies his administration’s healthcare reforms, which emerged from a critical need for accessible and affordable quality healthcare, at a time when the government lacked sufficient financial and human resources, hence the need for the adoption of a public-private partnership model.
This was made known by the Governor during the 5th anniversary of the Edo Specialist Hospital, which held on July 11, 2024, at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA) with the theme, ‘Sustainable Healthcare Transformation: Achieving Access to Care in Nigeria through Public Private Partnerships’.
According to the Governor: “Edo Specialist Hospital was a facility that was conceived about 10 years ago by the previous administration, designed to be a hospital, but it was not quite designed as a hospital. In the process of construction, because of the procurement process, it collapsed, and they had to review the design, completed the hospital, and gave out a contract for its equipment. All sorts happened but some equipment found its way there and it was commissioned, and I took over the office, and found out that the equipment was rented for commissioning.
“The biggest obstacle to reforms is us, particularly the elite, because of fear, not because we are bad people. So, if leadership will change anything, it is that belief, understanding and knowledge of what needs to change, and the courage to stay the path. This hospital is a real representation of my administration. It actually tells our story in every area; whether it is in education, whether it is in civil service reforms, whether it is in reforming GIS and the whole land administration system. And it takes being dogged, fearless, compassionate and understanding the healthcare needs of the people.”
Reflecting on the journey so far, the Governor noted that on assumption of office in 2016, the core of the state’s healthcare system depended heavily on the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). He mentioned that at that time, the few elites who could afford it sought quality healthcare abroad, leaving a significant portion of the population to rely on largely unsupervised private health facilities.
Obaseki stated that it was crucial to adopt an approach that clearly defined the government’s role and ensured that private healthcare facilities met established benchmarks.
He explained that the overhaul of the healthcare system focused on optimizing state resources to provide the best care for the people, a goal achieved through the Health Insurance Programme initiated by his administration.
“Government is supposed to be providing either free or fairly subsided healthcare in our facilities. We realized that most of our citizens were receiving care outside, paying money in private hospital facilities. Clearly, most people were not going to receive care because they could not afford it. We then realized that the issue of financing was at the core of the health care challenge.
“Everywhere in the world, healthcare is expensive. The government was pretending to be giving you free care which we were not. You were pretending to receive private care which you could not afford. That was the situation we found ourselves in. It was clear that with what we had to do in healthcare, government did not have the resources both financially and in terms of people, so we had to look at alternative models.
“The core of our care system in 2016 to 2017 was UBTH. Everybody trooped in there because our entire network had collapsed. Meanwhile, we had a budget for healthcare which we dispensed regularly. So, with this team, we said let us put together a new healthcare programme, which we termed, “The Health Improvement Programme (HIP).
“Edo Specialist Hospital (ESH) was born out of necessity to address all these issues we were dealing with at that time. And despite the challenges associated with public private partnership, as you saw on the screen, the achievements they have made so far have been enormous. For me, celebrating ESH at five tells the story of possibilities, the story of goldmines we are sitting on in the healthcare space in this country; it tells us that at the end of the day, the money is here and that we have Nigerians who can make it happen.”
He added: “I want to thank those that have made it possible and thank those that have given us frustrations, because if they did not, we would not have been challenged. I am here this morning to celebrate with you and celebrate with myself, that in spite of it all, it worked, and that since this has worked, many more will work.”
