By Peter Dansu The Executive Chairman of Badagry Local Government, Hon Babatunde Hunpe, on Tuesday inaugurated a new Health Committee for t...
By Peter Dansu
The Executive Chairman of Badagry Local Government, Hon Babatunde Hunpe, on Tuesday inaugurated a new Health Committee for the council area, appointing Dr Amosu Victor Semande as its chairman in a strategic move aimed at strengthening primary healthcare delivery across the community.
The committee, made up of representatives from all ten wards in the local government, has been tasked with overseeing the operations of Primary Health Centres, ensuring effective service delivery and improving access to affordable healthcare for residents.
Speaking during the inauguration, Hunpe expressed appreciation to members for accepting the responsibility and urged them to approach the assignment with dedication and commitment. He explained that the committee would serve as a key monitoring and advisory body, working closely with health professionals to ensure the fifteen Primary Health Centres in the local government operate at optimal levels.
According to him, members are expected to regularly monitor PHC activities, collaborate with medical officers, provide timely feedback to the council, and help address challenges affecting healthcare services in the area.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Medical Officer of Health for Badagry Local Government, Dr Oladunjoye Dorcas Adebimpe, emphasised the importance of data driven monitoring, community participation and prompt reporting in improving healthcare outcomes. She urged members of the committee to maintain close working relationships with health officers across the wards in order to strengthen the performance of the Primary Health Centres.
Responding on behalf of the committee, its chairman, Dr Amosu Victor Semande, thanked the council chairman for prioritising healthcare as a major pillar of his administration. He cited the transformation recorded at the Pota Primary Health Centre as a clear example of the progress being made in the sector.
Dr Semande, who drew from his years of professional practice abroad, stressed the need for strategic planning, regular immunisation against preventable diseases and stronger collaboration with local health officers. He noted that the committee would work to ensure that primary healthcare facilities in Badagry meet acceptable global standards while addressing the immediate needs of residents.
In a related development, the council chairman also received a briefing on the ongoing free electronic birth registration exercise funded through a partnership involving the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the National Population Commission.
Hunpe commended the partnership for promoting digital birth registration in Nigeria, describing it as an important step toward improving child welfare, accurate population data and effective planning at the grassroots level.
Providing an update on the exercise, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Mr Denis Onoise, disclosed that about fourteen thousand children between the ages of zero and five years have so far been registered. He stressed the need for intensified public awareness and community mobilisation to ensure that more families take advantage of the free registration.
The ongoing registration exercise is currently taking place at Badagry City Hall and several Primary Health Centres, including those located in Iluda Ajara, Apa, Mowo, Ilado, Ilogbo Eremi and Morogbo across the Badagry federal constituency.
Also speaking, Mrs Grace Adesola Honfo, Director of Health Education and Health Promotion at the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, said her department is supporting the initiative through public awareness campaigns, health education and community engagement to make the exercise accessible to families across Badagry.
The event was attended by several council officials including the Councillor representing Ward D and Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Hon Dapo Gidado, Council Manager Mrs Olusanya Mary Abosede, Chief of Staff Mr Taiwo Towolawi, Supervisor for Health Mr Lateef Saliu, Special Adviser on Health Mr Sikirulai Ojo and Council Treasurer Mr Olugbenga Hunponu.
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