The Director General of Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Janet Ekpenyong has pledged full support to the clamping down of quacks in Cross River State Health Sector.
She made this known during the formal unveiling of the Cross River State Public and Private Health Facilities Inspection Taskforce on Friday at the General Hospital Calabar by the Honorable Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu.
The DG said medical quackery was a cankerworm eating deep into our Healthcare system and as such needs to be uprooted if Cross River State is to achieve universal health coverage. According to her with the support of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and other allied Medical Associations the end to quackery will come to an end as this will save lives and promote professional ethics.
Dr Ekpenyong decried the increasing high rate of outreaches in communities across the state and the damages it has caused the inhabitants of such communities from outcomes of such fake practices. She said the Agency was on top of it as every medical outreaches in our primary healthcare facilities or communities must seek approval of the Cross River State Government through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency Board. She tasked the Inspection Taskforce to live up to expectation and be well assured of her support from the grassroot level.
The Honorable Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu on behalf of the State Governor, Senator Prof Ben Ayade had earlier inaugurated the Cross River State Public and Private Health Facilities Inspection Taskforce where a two weeks ultimatum was issued to owners of unregistered health facilities including laboratories, owners of criminal illegal practices such as dealers of products that makes claims to curing of multiple diseases such as supplements or the so called "Cleanser" to be weary of their operational status as their operations will come under professional supervision and strict scrutiny by the government special taskforce set up.
Dr Edu who also revealed that the Governor wants the best care for the inhabitants and Visitors in Cross River State said so many professionals are operating unregistered facilities like hospitals, pharmacies, drug chemist, maternity homes, mortuaries, laboratories and physiotherapy homes with questionable status with no evidence of business practice permit and professional registration licenses.
She called on media houses both print and electronic to join the drive by developing protocols for the vetting of individuals and their claims to avoid usage of the media channels to peddle their falsehood and quackery activities.
The State Chapter Chairman of NMA, Dr Innocent Abang disclosed that issues of quackery has been a major concern for NMA as a lot of fake and unapproved medical outreaches are carried out across the state especially in the rural areas leading to many deaths and morbidity. He called on the State house of Assembly to have a legislation against quackery and fake medical outreaches across our communities.
The Special Inspection Taskforce is to be Coordinated by Dr David Edem Ushie, Special Adviser to the Governor on Health and assisted by Medical and Health Union leaders in Cross River State.
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