The Rivers State Ministry of Health has reaffirmed that the HIV prevalence rate in the State currently stands at 3.6 percent.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, disclosed this during a media parley at the State Secretariat on Monday, December 8, 2025.
According to her, the State has achieved a high proportion of residents who know their HIV status and are undergoing viral load suppression. She added that the Ministry plans to scale up HIV testing and treatment with the target of reaching 99 percent viral suppression among people living with HIV.
Dr. Oreh noted that the government has enrolled more than half a million residents into the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme, most of whom are pregnant women, as part of efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality.
The Commissioner also highlighted the activities of the Rivers State Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System which, in collaboration with the Red Cross, has handled more than 2,000 emergency cases across the State, 60 percent of which involved maternal complications.
She explained that the State was intensifying efforts to reduce maternal death rates, describing it as one of the critical health challenges nationwide.
Providing updates on health infrastructure, Dr. Oreh said several hospital projects approved by the State Executive Council were at various stages of completion. She disclosed that the Zonal Hospital, Bori, which was commissioned earlier in the year, has since commenced full operations after delays experienced during the political crisis.
She further revealed that zonal hospitals in Ahoada and Omoku are near completion and would be opened to the public soon after the Christmas commissioning programme, while the Degema Zonal Hospital was projected for commissioning in the second quarter of 2026.
On the neuropsychiatric hospital in Rumuigbo, she explained that the upgraded facility will include a substance abuse rehabilitation centre, training units and research components, making it a strategic specialist health centre for the region.
The Commissioner also gave assurances that ongoing revitalisation of 135 primary healthcare centres, being undertaken with World Bank support, would be completed and handed over to the State government next week.
She maintained that the State Government is adopting a holistic approach to health worker welfare, including the payment of outstanding allowances and upgrades across all cadres of clinical staff.
Dr. Oreh emphasised that the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara remained committed to strengthening healthcare delivery at both primary and specialist levels across the State.
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