The Federal Government through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, OSSAP-SDGs has commissioned for use 100 and 80-beds Mother and Child Care hospitals,a skill acquisition centre and and a transit home for abused women in Osun State.
The 100-beds and 80 beds hospital equipped with state-or-the-art facilities which includes operating theatres, recovery rooms, private and general Wards, scanning Room, consultation rooms and laboratory, ultra-scan machine, vacuum extractor delivery set and an Emergency Cart with full compliments.
Speaking during the commissioning of the projects recently, Osun governor, Adegboyega Oyetola expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari and OSSAP-SDGs and the special assistant to the president for the initiatives.
He also reiterated the commitment of his government to the achievement of SDGs and continuous improvement in human development index of the state.
Also speaking at the event, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire noted that the hospital projects are strategic intervention directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘Quality Health and Well-being for all’ as well as other cross-cutting SDGs.
She added that the projects were also in fulfillment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s promises to provide quality healthcare for Nigerians, particularly women and children.
Princess Orelope-Adefulire added that interventions like the Mother and Child Centres are also necessary to stop the primary and secondary effects of COVID-19 pandemic from reversing gains in decades of human development.
She added that their commissioning, the 80 and 100 bed hospitals joined other such facilities already delivered by the OSSAP– SDGs that are being put to good use to safe lives across the country.
On the other hand, the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurial Centre and a Transit Home for Abused Women and Girls were targeted at empowerment of women, youths and other vulnerable groups in the society.
The skill acquisition centre has capacity to impart life-skills trainings for young men and women in the areas of Sewing, Fashion & Dressmaking Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Photography, Hair styling & Cosmetology, Barbing, Catering, Tiling & Interlocking, Automobile, Aluminium, Plumbing, Fabrication & Welding.
The facility, which is part of numerous centres delivered across the country by OSSAP-SDGs, is also equipped to deliver short term training on bead making, soap making, makeup artistry, event planning, painting, drawing, weaving, and shoe making.
The Transit Home for victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse was designed to serve as a safe haven for women and girls as well as to help the state ensure that victims of gender abuse get justice and succor.
It is equipped to impart lifelong skills which women and girls who have suffered violence.
It includes an administrative block, a crèche, 250-seater conference hall, 200 rooms self-contained apartment and a skills acquisition facility for training in hairdressing, tailoring, photography among others.
Princess Orelope-Adefulire said the two projects are demonstrations of commitment of the Buhari administration to prioritizing key interventions with multiplier effects on tackling multi-dimensional poverty in Nigeria.
She added that all the projects were in line with the President’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
According to her, to achieve the cardinal objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, which is to improve the economy, secure the country and to stamp out corruption, the youths must be encouraged to use their hands to work.
She added that there is empirical evidence to prove that investing in youths will lead to poverty eradication, which in turn leads to social security, thereby achieving SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16, and 17 respectively.
Princess Orelope-Adefulire noted that the Transit Home which was established to support women who have suffered abuse and violence to stand on their feet economically, will aid the achievements of goals 3, 5, 10, 16 and 17 of SDGs.
She also appreciated Governor Oyetola for his commitment and on-going support for the implementation of the SDGs in the state while urging beneficiaries of such interventions to take advantage of them to achieve the intended purposes.