By Obinna .J. Nwankwo
We were at the ever-bustling city of Onitsha today in continuation of our Christmas visits to all the children’s homes in Anambra State. These visits, for me, come with indescribable joy and spiritual fulfilment. That’s how I see Christmas. There’s not much that we can do for humanity if our actions are not driven by love.
Put a smile on someone’s face this season. As you do that, keep faith in God’s infallible assurance that “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” I wish you all the best of Christmas and New Year.
Today, we honoured individuals and local government councils that have performed outstandingly in grassroots health care performance and improved access to primary health care services in Anambra State. Among the honourees were those who made palpable differences in surveillance and routine immunization success in their local areas.
The fact is that Anambra State has achieved tremendous results in both surveillance and routine immunization programmes. Our approach is simple. By providing the right support and investing massively in the state’s health sector, identifying emerging data, and engaging reputable implementing partners and critical local stakeholders, our performance in the national immunization rating has been excellent.
But ours is not an administration that rests on immediate successes. We’re most intentional in strengthening collaborations with community leaders, religious institutions and local health workers, civil society organizations, and other concerned groups to ensure that our immunization coverage is 100% effective.
We also want to consolidate the results achieved in the free cervical cancer screening and treatment, free antenatal care and delivery services, rotavirus and covid-19 vaccinations, immunization campaigns and primary health care development.
I applaud our implementing partners – WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and NPHCDA – for always supporting our approach to quality, effective, and accessible health care for every resident of Anambra State. May Anambra continue to win!
Today, I oversaw the finals of the Healthy Living Cooking Competition that we put up for secondary schools that emerged from the six educational zones of Anambra State. While the prizes were to reward the students for their excellent culinary skills, our major target is to instil discipline, diligence, and practical knowledge of hygiene and healthy living in these wonderful cooks.
Our commitment to raising a healthy generation is firm. Note that every meal that these young chefs made today was completely organic. That way, we’ve intentionally opened their eyes and minds to simple facts about eating right, which is a primary pillar of good health.
I want to congratulate all the zones that participated in this year’s competition. Every one of you won. Let’s do this again in 2024. Remember to stay healthy and stay happy.
