Residents of Ozoro community in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, have taken to the street to protest what they described as the poor state of the government-owned General Hospital in the town.
The New Diplomat learnt that the population projection of Isoko council for 2016 was 197,700. Now that a University has been established in Ozoro, headquarters of the Local Government Area, the projection would be about 250,000.
Our investigation reveals that with the population density in the council, one public secondary health care centre is grossly inadequate. But the issues is not just the inadequacy, but absolute lack of medical personnel, equipment and infrastructure.
The Ozoro community, which could no longer bear the poor state of the hospital, took to the streets in a peaceful protest.
The protest, led by the President General of Ozoro Kingdom, Chief Miller Akpoili, saw the residents marching through major streets in the town ending at the hospital’s gate.
The protesters, who chanted solidarity songs, carried placards with different inscriptions like ‘No doctor, no nurses’, ‘Dead hospital’, ‘No General Hospital in Ozoro’ ‘no drugs’, among others.
Speaking with newsmen, some of the protesters lamented that the hospital, founded in 1953, was in a state of disrepair and dire need of renovation and qualified and sufficient medical personnel, standard medical laboratory, standard pharmacy as well as infrastructure such as power supply and potable water.
One of the protesters who gave his name as Mr. Omovo, in a chat with our correspondent said: “The basic function of the government is to put in place health facilities, hospitals with qualified doctors, nurses and the best equipment to cater for the health of the citizens because health is life.
“Ozoro, with the highest population in the Isoko nation, with a university, cannot sit down and watch, while their citizens suffer poor health condition.
“Patients who are rushed from different parts of the local government area do not find doctors and nurses to attend to them, equipment to give assistance to patients who are in critical conditions.
“We the Ozoro people in general, use this peaceful protest to send a signal to our Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who himself is a medical doctor and to all Ozoro sons and daughters working in all government organisations to come to our aid and renovate the hospital.
“We can no longer sit down and watch while our people are dying every day. Come to our rescue by bringing more doctors, nurses and equipment to Ozoro General Hospital.”
