By Jedidah Silas Kiman
Gombe
The Minister of Health, Dr. Foloronsho Isaac Adewale, has said the federal government, through the ministry of health, has approved the sum of N 1.5 billion as immediate relief fund to be distributed among four states of the northeast that have been heavily affected by the spate of insurgency.
The minister, who stated this yesterday in Gombe, while going round to assess health facilities in the state, also said he was in the state on a mission as directed by President Mohammadu Buhari.
He said mission was part of the federal government’s effort to upgrade health facilities in the affected states.
“The N1.5 billion is amount appropriated by our ministry as immediate relieve to take care of our people in the four states of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe and Yobe.
“We will use it to upgrade health care facilities and make sure that our Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs )get the needed attention”, he explained.
The acting secretary to the state government Mr. James Pisagi, who received the minister on behalf of the state government, stated that the visit of the minister was timely considering the current state of health facilities in the state.
While calling on the federal government to also look into other challenges faced by the states, he noted, particularly, the managing its snake bite center, and other primary health facilities in the state.
The state, he said, had remained on the receiving end, ravaged by the spate of insurgency.
Some of the facilities visited by the minister include the Gombe State University Teaching Hospital, Military Health Center, IDPs camp, and some Primary Health Centers in the state.