An envoy from the United State International Development (USAID) team paid a visit to the Cross River State Ministry Of Health on their arrival to the State for a fact finding inspection and appraisal visit and to further collaborate with Cross River State Government in tackling diseases in the state.
Speaking at the office complex of the State Ministry of Health the Honourable Dr. Janet Ekpenyong on behalf of His Excellency Sen Prof Ben Ayade welcomed the team of high profiled representatives who arrived from Abuja to the beautiful city of Calabar which she described as a citadel of hospitality.
She commended USAID for all their contributions to the success stories recorded in the state in the area of health though their fundings and support whilst noting that the various interventions has helped the State record alot of wins in the area of combating Tuberculosis, Covid-19 and most importantly Hiv/Aids which Cross River has recorded a notable success story in dropping down the chart of states with high records of HiV/Aids presence to a 2.0 ratio.
Dr. Ekpenyong reiterated Cross River State Government’s committment to improving healthcare delivery to its people and was however optimistic that with the continuous supports of the USAID greater and higher feats will be reached with the menace of TB/Hiv/Aids and Covid-19 tackled to the barest minimum if not totally eradicated.
Introducing the team to the house, the Chief of party of ECEWS, Mr. Adeoye Adegbeye who lauded the efforts of the CRSG in partnering with relevant agencies and donor partners thanked the Honourable Commisioner for her proactive efforts and response to the different interventions and programmes that have been ongoing as he introduced the team lead to reel out the purpose of their August visit to the state.
Dr Ezekiel James, the USAID team lead responding stated that the team at the national level considered it expedient to embark on this visit to Cross River State for three reasons which were ; To felicitate and congratulate the honourable Commisioner on her elevation and appointment in charge of the ministry of health, to officially introduce to her the various USAID investments in a coordinated form an manner where systems are initiated to synergize all projects and finally to inform the ministry on their proposed visits to programme sites.
Dr Ezekiel James noted that the resolve to visit sites where programmes have been implemented is solely for the purpose of looking at the achievements recorded thus far, considering and noting the challenges and finally offering solutions whilst appraising areas that are due.
He further retorted that Cross River state remains a significant state based on existing data that shows that they’re close to meeting the recommended mark for programmes noting that this visit is to further strengthen ways through which the state can improve on her 49% current data mark on covid vaccination to meeting the recommended 70% .
The Honourable commissioner for health Dr. Janet Ekpenyong however assured the team of their cooperation to aiding them in their inspection routine whilst wishing them fruitful and rewarding stay in Calabar as she assured them of the ministry’s continuous commitment.
Also present were the Permanent Secretary SMOH, Dr Pauline Obute, the DPH, Dr Offor, the SASCP Focal Person, Mrs Mary Ama, implementing partners from Kncv, ECEWS, Breakthrough action, CCCRN , JPHEIGO amongst others
Kenneth Anam
M0H,Calabar
17th April,2023
