By Joy Umo
Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has praised the Cross River State Government for what he described as clear and measurable progress in health sector development.
The Minister gave the commendation on Monday shortly after arriving in Calabar for the high level sessions of the sixty sixth National Council on Health.
Professor Pate said Cross River has shown exceptional commitment to strengthening primary and secondary healthcare services, improving the health workforce and enhancing service delivery.
He noted that the state’s efforts reflect the Federal Government’s renewed drive to reposition the health sector under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The progress we have seen in Cross River is impressive. The state is clearly among those leading reforms that align with national priorities,” he said.
Pate added that effective collaboration between the federal and state governments remains central to building a resilient national health system.
The Minister outlined ongoing national initiatives, including improvements in the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, expansion of primary healthcare facilities, training of over seventy thousand frontline workers and upgrades of tertiary hospitals.
He stressed that these reforms are most effective when states like Cross River push aggressively for results at the subnational level.
Professor Pate also expressed appreciation to the Obong of Calabar for receiving the national health delegation and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s support for states that demonstrate genuine commitment to improving healthcare.
He described the National Council on Health as Nigeria’s highest health policy making body, empowered by the National Health Act to determine the direction of health governance, financing, quality standards and emergency preparedness.
The health Minister noted that resolutions adopted in Calabar will influence the country’s health priorities for the coming year.
At the State Executive Chamber where the Minister was received, Governor Bassey Otu, represented by the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, said the health sector remains a top priority for the administration.
He explained that in the last two years the government has invested heavily in rehabilitating health facilities, supplying essential medicines, improving water and sanitation systems and expanding operational support across all eighteen local government areas.
Odey also disclosed that the General Hospital in Ikom, described as one of the largest secondary health facilities in the state, is nearing completion. He credited the progress to a coordinated reform agenda led by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk.
“Every request concerning healthcare has received urgent attention from this administration.
We are deliberately rebuilding the health system from the foundation,” he said.
The Deputy Governor invited the Minister and his team to participate in this year’s Carnival Calabar celebrations, noting that Cross River is proud to host the gathering of national health leaders and policy makers.
The sixty sixth National Council on Health continues in Calabar, with ministers, commissioners, development partners and health experts deliberating on key policies to strengthen Nigeria’s health system.