The Delta Commissioner for Health, Dr Ononye Mordi, says the ministry is proposing the sum of N8.6 billion expenditure for the 2019 fiscal year.
Mordi disclosed this on Monday in Asaba during the 2019 budget defence meeting with the state House of Assembly Committee on Health.
The commissioner, who appeared before the committee with the heads of parastatals under the ministry, said the proposed budget would enable government to provide more quality and affordable healthcare to the people.
He said that the state government was working tirelessly to provide solid health infrastructure across the state.
Mordi said infrastructure was key to providing quality healthcare to the people, hence government proposed N363 million for the renovation and completion of healthcare centres.
The commissioner noted that N1.7 billion was set aside for the renovation and expansion of existing hospitals across the state, as well as remodeling and rehabilitation of the Eku Baptist Hospital.
“The sum of N45 million is also proposed for the maternal and child care centre at Warri and Ekpan.
“The sum of N232 million is proposed for the upgrading of four central hospitals to specialists hospitals at Warri, Ughelli, Agbor and Sapele,’’ he said.
Mordi said that the construction of the Asaba Central Hospital would gulp N840.7 million, while N10 million was proposed for the renovation of Government Hospital, Ojobo, Burutu Local Government Area.
“We are also proposing N50 million for equipping the state Specialists Hospital, Oghara, and N50 million for the Specialist Hospital library, Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government Area of the state,’’ he said.
He further said efforts were on to strengthen the State Agency for the Control of Aids (SACA) with N37 million in 2019.
The commissioner added that N1.2 billion would be for contributory health insurance scheme, while N124 million would go into disease control and management of infectious disease outbreak.
Mordi noted that the state secretariat clinic would receive a boost in 2019 as N5 million has been proposed for its construction and equipping.
Responding, the Chairman, House Committee on Health, Dr Alphonsus Ojo, stressed the need for the people to have access to quality and affordable healthcare in all government health institutions in the state.
Ojo said, “health is wealth, hence all hands must be on deck to implement the lofty programmes of Okowa administration in the health sector.”
The lawmaker urged all parastatals under the ministry to live up to expectation and gave the assurance that the committee would look into the proposed estimates of the ministry in order to achieve their targets.