Anambra govt, Rotary release 4,000 radio sets to boost on-air teaching
Health workers in Ebonyi State yesterday cited lack of transportation and testing kits as major challenges in fight against coronavirus, urging the state government and stakeholders to respond urgently.
This followed after the state recorded two deaths, which were attributed to negligence of the health workers.
Reacting to the development, a doctor at Elinwovu Treatment Centre told The Guardian that the patients were not abandoned, insisting that his team had challenges of transportation and lack of required kits.
“We are just discharging people at Unity Square now. They will be attended to once we get there. Those that would have attended to them are here with me and the bus that should have taken them to the place has not come,” he said.
However, Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Chris Achi, refuted the claims, saying that anytime they complained of any challenge, his attention was always drawn to it and such challenge was addressed immediately.
He noted that Commissioner for Health and the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital were always available and also monitoring the situation.
“We have not had many casualties in the state due to the way we attend to and handle our patients. You may be aware that of the 254 cases in the state, we have discharged over 190.
“We actually lost two Ebonyi people to the pandemic, but in the real sense, we lost one person because we did not manage the latest casualty. He was treated at a private hospital,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Government and Rotary Club of Awka Central (District 9142) have offered 4,000 radio sets for the Teaching On-Air programme on the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) radio and television through which pupils and students could access alternative learning from volunteer teachers.
President of the Club, Rotarian Toochukwu Mbachi, presented 1,000 pieces of Compact Discs (CDs) containing recorded on-air tutorials to the state government for distribution to pupils and students, especially those in the rural areas.
Commissioner for Basic Education, Professor Kate Omenugha, commended the club for being the first organisation to identify with the Teaching On-Air programme and for donating the radio sets and CDs, noting that the state government shared similar objective with the club on e-learning initiative.
Omenugha, who announced that the state government would procure 3000 radio sets for the programme, urged the teachers to ensure that the gadgets get to the children, especially those at the grassroots level, who have no access to Internet or Whatsapp to embrace the e-learning programme.
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