Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, Friday, said his administration was determined to build about 300 designated Primary Health Care centres (PHCs) across the state in 30 months.
Obaseki said this in Benin during the inauguration of the Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) ultra-medical care facility, called the Benin Medical Care (BMC).
He said the new PHCs, which would be under the Edo Health Improvement Programme would be done in collaboration with health care providers.
The governor said the problem confronting the health care delivery system in Nigeria had remained a burning topic for all.
According to him, an average of 20,000 Nigerians travel abroad every year, particularly to Asia, for medical assistance.
The governor said the bulk of Nigeria’s health care issues were preventable and treatable diseases that could be handled at the primary health care level.
He said the diseases could not be prevented and treated because the primary health care facilities had been abandoned.
Obaseki said the development prompted the decision of the state government to tackle health care challenges in the state from the foundation.
In his address, the Chief Executive Officer of BMC, Dr Ravi Singh, said the facility would serve the people of the state and its environs by making available health solutions that were hitherto only accessible abroad.