Gov. Alex Otti of Abia on Tuesday inaugurated an 80-bed general hospital in Obingwa Local Government Area to expand access to quality healthcare services.
The facility, named Chima Ubani General Hospital, is equipped with modern medical facilities, digital health technology, a healing garden and a renewable energy system to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
Otti said the project reflected his administration’s commitment to modernising the state’s healthcare system and improving access to medical services.
He said the hospital’s technology-driven framework would support data management, real-time collaboration among healthcare facilities and the analysis of laboratory results and medical scans.
The governor directed that the hospital operate 24 hours daily, including weekends, and assured residents of regular supplies of quality drugs and medical consumables.
He also warned against vandalism and other acts capable of undermining the facility, stressing that the project was funded with taxpayers’ money.
Otti said the hospital was named after the late Comrade Chima Ubani, a pro-democracy activist and former Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation, in recognition of his contributions to society.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Uche, said the hospital was equipped with digital health technology that would enable doctors at the facility to monitor patients in primary healthcare centres through telehealth.
He described it as the first general hospital in Abia to have the technology and possibly the first of its kind in the South-East.
The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, described the hospital as a legacy project, while other stakeholders commended the state government’s investment in healthcare.
Dr Ifeyinwa Uma-Kalu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, said the government was committed to reducing maternal and child mortality through improved healthcare infrastructure.
