The Acting Executive Secretary of Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP), Dr. Vetty Agala has declared that Non-Communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension and diabetes account for over 27 percent of deaths globally.
Agala, who said this while speaking with journalists during unveiling of Project 10m by the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, in Port Harcourt, stated that RIVCHPP is excited to see the Commissioner unveil the Project 10m and expressed the agency’s readiness to partner and support the Commissioner and the Health Ministry to ensure that the project comes to fruition.
She maintained that Project 10m will help the ministry to determine the hypertension and diabetes prevalence in the state, saying that the project remains strategic since two-thirds of people with NCDs may not be aware that they have such ailments.
Agala announced that as the Ministry carries out the screening and tests for non-communicable diseases, the agency is willing and ready to bring on board the health insurance scheme those that are ill to enable them get treated for their ailments without causing financial hardship on them.
The RIVCHPP Executive Secretary, who pointed out that hypertension and diabetes are chronic illnesses that are expensive to manage, commended Governor Siminialayi Fubara for enabling the Ministry of Health, through the Project 10m to carry out free screening and testing for people living and doing business in the state, while the RIVCHPP will enroll those diagnosed with the ailments for quality healthcare and treatment at little or no cost.
She further stated that with the policies that Governor Fubara has put in place, there is prevention, screening, and testing for diseases and RIVCHPP is here to ensure that those down with hypertension and diabetes are treated for a full year without letting the treatment eat deep into their pockets, congratulating the Commissioner for Health, Forum of Commissioners for Health and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) for putting in place Project 10m in all the states of the federation.
Agala used the medium to commend Siminialayi Fubara for investing heavily in health, agriculture and education, which she said “speak to more than half of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
She also commended the governor for investing in the different tiers of health care, ensuring also that there are human resources in the health sector by directing employment in the health sector, alongside training and retraining of health personnel, saying that the state has never had it so good in the health sector for a long while.
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Earlier in her remarks, the Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Mekele Comfort Igwe, said the Project 10M is a “laudable initiative that has the potential to reshape our approach to non-communicable diseases in Nigeria,” describing it “as a bold and transformative campaign led by the NGF and the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.
Oreh stressed that the straightforward and impactful initiative is poised to screen 10 million Nigerians for hypertension and diabetes to identify and link all new cases to care and to ultimately reduce the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in our country.
The Health Commissioner, who said early detection of the diseases would allow individuals to make lifestyle changes, receive treatment and prevent severe complications, informed that the secretariats of the 23 councils in the state, will be used as base for outreach operations for the project on a daily basis.
The Commissioner also noted that Project 10M seeks to breach the cycle of the diseases emerging as silent killers by promoting early detection and management, thereby helping to prevent life-threatening complications and saving lives.
In a goodwill message, Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Walter Kazadi Mutumbo, who was represented by the State Coordinator, Prof. Abdulganiyu Giwa, described the project as “a vital initiative aimed at enhancing the health and well-being of Rivers people and Nigerians” adding that NCDs pose a substantial burden on public health and the economy.
