The Federal Government has announced plans to take over ownership of the Snakebite Hospital and Research Centre in Kaltungo, Gombe State.
Prof. Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, disclosed this on Friday during an inspection tour of the facility in Kaltungo Local Government Area.
He said the move was aimed at improving the health status of rural dwellers in the North-East and neighboring countries.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu is committed to improving the health of citizens through viable initiatives across the country.
“The federal government has agreed with the state government and made arrangements to take over the treatment centre, which will serve not only Gombe State but other states.
“The facility will not only provide clinical services but also serve as a teaching and research centre, with the ultimate goal of producing some of the anti-snake venoms locally to better care for patients.
“The snakebite treatment centre we have seen here in Kaltungo is full to capacity. Patients from all states in the North-East and even neighboring countries come here for treatment.
“This is because snakebite is a major problem, particularly in agricultural communities during the rainy and harvest seasons,” Pate said.
The minister reiterated that the Tinubu-led administration is focused on transforming Nigeria’s health system in collaboration with the 36 state governments.
He commended Gov. Inuwa Yahaya for investing in healthcare human resources and implementing the CONMESS/CONHESS salary structure for health workers in the state.
Pate said the state government’s efforts to revamp its health sector align with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Also speaking, Gov. Yahaya lauded President Tinubu for supporting the transformation of Gombe’s health system, noting that federal support and development partnerships had strengthened infrastructural reforms in the state’s health sector.
He pledged to sustain ongoing programmes to ensure residents have access to quality healthcare.
“Our cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Health and development partners has helped a lot in achieving this. We are ready to escalate it. There’s no limit to what we can do to improve the health and wellbeing of our people,” the governor said.
