Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Samuel Alli, has disclosed the plans of government to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and partners in making oxygen access a top priority.
Making this disclosure during an inauguration and onboarding ceremony for the Edo State Oxygen Coordinating Committee held at the ministry’s premises in Benin City, the Commissioner stated that the initiative was in line with the recently launched national policy and scale-up strategy for medical oxygen.
Dr. Alli described the members as the right set of individuals for the job, as they were selected due to the various roles they have previously performed in the health sector, adding that the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration is keen on making oxygen accessible to all through the provision of a permanent location in order to address oxygen needs of patients in emergency situations.
The Commissioner explained that the importance of medical oxygen in medical practice cannot be over-emphasized as it is an essential material used to attend to emergency cases in all areas of health care.
According to him, medical oxygen has proven to be a vital aspect of health care in the management of hypoxemia and the prevention of child and maternal mortality in the state and the nation at large, adding that proper access to medical oxygen would go a long way in reducing the high rate of deaths caused by hypoxemia and other oxygen-related complications in health management.
Dr. Alli assured of the ministry’s commitment in a seamless collaboration between multi-sectorial partners who can support the state in its efforts to ensure access to medical oxygen for patients who require it for their treatment.
Highpoint of the ceremony was a training exercise for the newly inaugurated committee members, with an assessment test in order to ascertain their proficiency.
