Eno Inspects Ibom International Hospital, Pushes Health Insurance As Project Targets 2027

• Governor Umo Eno says Ibom International Hospital will emerge as a world-class medical facility serving Akwa Ibom, Nigeria and the wider African region.

• Governor urges residents to embrace health insurance to make specialised treatment affordable and accessible.

• About 40 medical consultants, 25 health-sector unions and experts from Nigeria, Germany and the United States contributed to the hospital’s planning and design.

• Project team says work is progressing simultaneously on the facility’s three major wings, with June 2027 set as the delivery target.

• Governor Eno is also scheduled to commission the ARISE Youth Development Centre in Ikono as part of activities marking Akwa Ibom’s 39th anniversary.

September 04, () — Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has renewed his call for residents to embrace health insurance as he expressed confidence that the ongoing Ibom International Hospital project in Uyo will transform specialised healthcare delivery in the state and reduce dependence on treatment outside Akwa Ibom.

Governor Eno made the call on Friday during an unscheduled inspection of the hospital project, barely two months after the foundation stone was laid, where he assessed the pace and quality of construction and interacted with members of the project team.

The Governor said the facility, when completed, would be positioned as a world-class medical centre capable of providing advanced healthcare services not only to Akwa Ibom residents but also to patients from other parts of Nigeria and the African region.

“I believe we will deliver for Akwa Ibom people a world-class medical facility, not just for Akwa Ibom, but within the region”, Eno said.

He commended the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem John, the lead contractor, project coordinator, consultants, doctors, engineers and other professionals involved in the project, saying their commitment demonstrated the administration’s determination to deliver a medical facility that meets international standards.

The Governor said the investment formed part of his administration’s broader strategy to strengthen the state’s health sector, stressing that the wellbeing of the people remained central to the ARISE development agenda.

According to him, investments in roads, public infrastructure and other sectors would have limited impact if citizens lacked the good health needed to enjoy and utilise them.

Eno particularly highlighted the cancer treatment component of the hospital, expressing concern that inadequate access to diagnostic services often leads to late detection of cancer, thereby reducing the chances of successful treatment.

He said the new facility would give residents greater access to regular medical examinations and early diagnosis, which could improve treatment outcomes and ultimately save lives.

The Governor, however, warned that the availability of sophisticated medical facilities would not automatically translate into access for everyone if residents continued to depend solely on out-of-pocket healthcare payments.

He therefore urged Akwa Ibom residents to voluntarily enrol in health insurance schemes, noting that specialised treatment and surgical procedures could impose financial burdens that many families might struggle to bear.

“Hospitals like this, having an insurance policy is the only way a lot of us would benefit from it because there are treatments you may want to access here but may not be able to pay the bills,” he said.

Eno said residents should not wait until health insurance participation becomes compulsory before enrolling, stressing that affordable options were already available.

The Governor maintained that his administration’s healthcare investments were designed to address immediate medical needs while also laying the foundation for a stronger and more sustainable health system for future generations.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem John, said the project was conceived through extensive consultation with stakeholders within and outside the state’s health sector.

He disclosed that the government engaged the leadership of 25 health-sector unions in the planning process, while about 40 consultants covering different medical specialities assessed the state’s healthcare needs and contributed to determining the facilities and services to be incorporated into the hospital.

John said specialists and experts from Germany and the United States were also involved, alongside professionals from the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, National Hospital, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, and Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

The project team said construction was progressing simultaneously across the three major wings of the facility, with different teams working day and night in an effort to accelerate delivery.

The Consultant and Project Coordinator, Dr Teinye Isokariari, said Governor Eno had fixed June 2027 as the delivery target, but assured that the team was working to complete the project ahead of schedule.

The Structural Engineer, Mohammed Bita, explained that the three wings were being handled as independent projects to speed up construction and ensure that work progressed concurrently.

The hospital is expected to expand access to specialised medical services, improve early diagnosis and treatment and reduce the number of Akwa Ibom residents travelling to other states or countries for certain procedures.

The Governor’s inspection of the hospital was part of a wider assessment of ongoing government projects in Uyo, as he also visited the Command and Control Centre, the AKWA-GIS building and the new Governor’s Office Annex along Dominic Utuk Avenue.

Meanwhile, Governor Eno also commissioned the newly completed ARISE Youth Development Centre in Ikono Local Government Area today, Friday, as part of activities marking the state’s 39th anniversary.

The 3 pm commissioning will be the fourth in a series of project inaugurations planned to mark the anniversary and is expected to further highlight the administration’s focus on grassroots development and youth empowerment.

The Ikono centre is one of the ARISE Youth Development Centres being established across the state’s 31 local government areas to bring digital, vocational and enterprise development opportunities closer to young people.

The facility comprises a multipurpose training hall, digital library, ICT hub, creative and media centre, youth enterprise kiosk, networking spaces and recreational facilities, with solar power and electronic learning resources incorporated into its design.

The centres are expected to provide platforms for skills acquisition, digital training and enterprise development, with the broader objective of equipping young people to participate more effectively in the state’s emerging digital and enterprise-driven economy.

Dr Ekem John, Commissioner for Health, said the involvement of about 40 specialists and 25 health-sector unions in the conception of the Ibom International Hospital is significant because it suggests the project is being driven by identified healthcare needs rather than infrastructure alone. Bringing together local practitioners and experts from major Nigerian institutions as well as Germany and the United States could also help the facility adopt stronger standards in specialised care.

More importantly, the success of the hospital will ultimately be measured by how many ordinary residents can afford to use its services.

He says it makes Governor Eno’s emphasis on health insurance particularly important, noting that a world-class hospital can only achieve its full public health impact when financing mechanisms enable citizens to access the sophisticated services it is being built to provide.