WHO, UNICEF commend Mbah’s primary healthcare reforms in Enugu

The World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and community leaders have commended Governor Peter Mbah for his administration’s investment in primary healthcare, as Enugu State recorded significant improvements in access to health services and immunisation coverage.

The commendation came on Tuesday during the 2026 Biannual Meeting and Supportive Supervisory Visit by the governor to the Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centre in Ihe Ward, Nsukka Local Government Area.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ENSPHDA), Dr. Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, disclosed that visits to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in the state had increased from 800,000 to 1.4 million, representing an 80 per cent rise. She also said Penta-3 immunisation coverage had climbed from 78.5 per cent to 88.9 per cent, surpassing the national target of 85 per cent.

Ani-Osheku attributed the gains to the state government’s reforms, including the construction of 260 new PHCs across the state’s wards, the addition of 3,380 hospital beds and 520 baby cots, the recruitment of 2,250 health workers, and the deployment of doctors to primary healthcare facilities. She added that safe deliveries attended by skilled personnel had increased from 40.9 per cent to 59.3 per cent within six months, while malaria treatment, medicine availability, digitalisation of health facilities, and ultrasound services had also improved.

The South East Zonal Coordinator of WHO Nigeria, Dr. Chukwumuanya Igbonekwu, described Governor Mbah’s routine supervisory visits to health facilities as a catalyst for accountability, staff motivation, and improved service delivery, while UNICEF, through its Enugu Field Office represented by Health Logistics Consultant Dr. Charles Abel, also praised the governor’s commitment to improving primary healthcare and reaffirmed the agency’s support for the state’s healthcare programmes.

Governor Mbah said his administration deliberately established one modern PHC in each of the state’s 260 wards to ensure equitable access to healthcare, noting that the investment had contributed to reducing maternal mortality. He also urged traditional rulers, women leaders and other community stakeholders to champion immunisation, antenatal and postnatal care, universal health insurance enrolment, and monitor service delivery at health centres.

“I have also listened to our elders. We are going to have the MRI, the CT scan, and all the radiological services at the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Teaching Hospital so that you do not have to travel to Enugu to get full healthcare services. This I guarantee you,” the governor said.

Also speaking, Chairman of Nsukka Local Government Area, Engr. Jude Asogwa, Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Enugu State chapter, Dr. Sunday Okafor, and the Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, lauded the governor’s commitment to strengthening the state’s health sector, with Asogwa expressing confidence that the administration’s performance would earn it electoral support in the 2027 general election.