Clean And Healthy Environment, Panacea To Sickness, Untimely Death – Aregbesola

The governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has identified clean and healthy environments as panacea to sickness and diseases that usually kill people with ease in the society.

The governor stated this at the handing over ceremony of medical staff quarters, built by the Otan-Ayegbaju Pacesetters’ Club, Otan-Ayegbaju, for doctors and nurses working at the Comprehensive Health Centre of the community.

The state’s helmsman further stressed that cleanliness of the body and environment, combined with fresh air, are the greatest insurance against any form of sickness, as well as being tools to stem the spread of diseases.

The quarters contain five bedrooms, one living room and three kitchens, according to the Chairman, Planning/Project Commissioning Committee, Chief SegunAina (OFR).

Aina stated that the construction and handing over of the quarters to the state government was borne out of commitment of the club to provide comfortable accommodation for all nursing staff and resident medical doctors being posted to the community health centre.

According to Aregbesola, who commended members of the club for contributing to the improvement of healthcare delivery in their hometown, the best way to prevent untimely death as a result of sickness and diseases is to avoid living in an unhealthy area.

The governor disclosed that hospital patients in the state were reduced by 50 per cent with the introduction of a 90-day emergency environmental sanitation and the O’ CLEAN programme, maintaining that it is safer to maintain a clean environment than to save money for medical treatment.

Aregbesola charged the people to plant trees and flowers in their surroundings for fresh air, just as he enjoined them to do exercise from time to time.

The governor then urged other associations at Otan-Ayegbaju, to emulate the Pacesetters’ Club and assist the government in delivering qualitative healthcare services and development of the state at large.

He, however, promised to deploy more health workers, especially doctors and nurses, as well as general health practitioners to the health centre in the community,with a view to facilitating the free health care drive.

In his address, Aina lamented that the health centre in the community was suffering from dearth of nurses and doctors, as the health practitioners posted to the centre usually complain of lack of accommodation.

Aina disclosed that the Otan-Ayegbaju Pacesetters’ Club deemed it fit to build the medical staff quarters and hand it over to the state government,so as to attract medical practitioners, who will henceforth be posted to the community health centre.

He stressed that the quarters have been furnished to the taste of the doctors and nurses, pleading with the government to post necessary and adequate personnel to the health centre for 24-hour service.

According to him, there was inadequacy of medical personnel on duty at the health centre during the day and none during the evening, nights and weekends.

Appealing to the state government to upgrade the Otan-Ayegbaju health centre to a General Hospital, Aina disclosed that the community had set aside 11 hectares of land to accommodate the upgrading.

Commending Aregbesola on the Osun State Youths Empowerment Scheme (OYES) and the Osun Rural Enterprises and Agriculture Programme (O’REAP), the Owa of Otan-Ayegbaju, Oba Lukman Ojo Fadipe, stated that the state is developing aggressively with the various projects embarked upon by the governor.

Oba Fadipe, who also handed over the medical equipment donated by the community to the health centre, to the state government, urged Aregbesola to, as a matter of urgency, look into the health care delivery of the community and provide doctors and nurses for the health centre.