BENIN CITY: The Edo State Health Regulation and Monitoring Agency (EDOHERMA) has sought strategic collaboration with the Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS) to deepen public awareness on health regulation and compliance across the state.
The Chief Executive Officer of EDOHERMA, Dr Adesuwa Urhoghide, made the request during a visit to the Managing Director of EBS, Mr Sulaiman Aledeh, at the station’s corporate headquarters in Aduwawa.
Urhoghide stressed that regulation without adequate public awareness could breed resistance, noting that compliance improves when facility owners understand requirements, citizens are aware of their rights and patients know expected safety standards.
She reiterated that EDOHERMA is the statutory agency responsible for licensing, inspection, monitoring and enforcement of health standards across public and private health facilities, as well as public spaces with health risks.
She emphasised that the agency’s focus is on raising standards rather than punitive enforcement, describing safe healthcare as a shared responsibility.
Responding, Aledeh welcomed the proposed partnership, describing it as innovative.
He lamented that inadequate information had led many Nigerians to abandon indigenous alternative medicines in favour of similar foreign products.
He expressed readiness to collaborate with the agency, noting that EBS television signals extend to Akure in Ondo State, while its radio broadcasts have global reach via the internet.
Both organisations agreed on sustained publicity for compliance education, patient rights advocacy, responsible health advertising, verification of health-related advertisements, rapid media coordination during emergencies and joint messaging to curb misinformation and encourage public reporting of health hazards.
