Residents of Umuola Community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State have celebrated the revival and commissioning of their community health centre after decades of abandonment.
The facility was renovated and commissioned on Saturday, September 26, 2026, by the Paramount Ruler of Umuola, Eze Dr Chike Promise.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Eze Promise said he was motivated to rehabilitate the health centre after witnessing the hardship residents endured in accessing basic healthcare services.
He described the intervention as an act of empathy and said he decided to take action rather than continue complaining about challenges facing the community.
“I am first a human being before any other position. I grew in this community, so I know the pains, challenges and problems of the grassroots,” he said.
Eze Promise said the rehabilitation was only the beginning, noting that additional facilities and equipment would be provided in subsequent phases.
He also disclosed that the medical authorities had promised to deploy personnel to the facility, while appealing to residents to protect the health centre from vandalism.
He urged the government to support the facility, expressing confidence that its intervention would eventually extend to the community.
The Medical Officer of Health and Director of Primary Health Care, Etche Local Government Area, Dr Sunday-Piaro Tormene, assured residents that the health centre had been listed under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).
He said the facility would begin receiving funding once it was accredited, adding that efforts would also be made to enrol qualified residents in free healthcare programmes.
Tormene disclosed that the local government had only about 107 healthcare workers, which he said was inadequate for the number of facilities requiring personnel.
He, however, assured the community that a staff member had been posted to the Umuola facility and promised to do more when additional manpower became available.
He appealed to other communities in Etche to emulate Umuola by reviving their health facilities and working with the government to bring healthcare services closer to residents.
Representing the Chairman of Etche Local Government Area, Chima Njorku, the APC Chairman of Etche LGA, Precious Amadi, commended the Umuola community for the initiative.
Amadi urged other communities to shun violence, killings and disputes and instead channel their energy towards development.
He said the council chairman had received the community’s demands and would consider providing additional manpower and other support to the health centre.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Umuola Community Development Committee, George Chidiadi, said the absence of a functional health facility had exposed residents to preventable deaths, delayed treatment and other hardships.
He said pregnant women, children and elderly residents often had to travel long distances to access basic medical services.
According to him, the rehabilitated health centre has outpatient consultation rooms, maternity and delivery units, immunisation and child-welfare services, inpatient wards and electricity.
He said the facility was expected to provide primary healthcare services, including maternal and child healthcare, immunisation, family planning, treatment of common illnesses, health education and emergency first aid.
Chidiadi assured the donor and other stakeholders that the community would establish a facility management committee to ensure proper maintenance of the centre.
He also appealed for government intervention in other areas, including the remodelling of Government Secondary School Umuola, construction of a model primary healthcare facility, installation of solar streetlights, provision of telecommunications network coverage and improvement of road access.
Some beneficiaries who received free medical services during the commissioning expressed appreciation to Eze Promise for the intervention.
One of the beneficiaries, Emilia Israel, said residents had previously faced serious difficulties accessing healthcare, with some travelling to neighbouring communities and spending substantial amounts on transportation and treatment.
She expressed hope that the revived health centre would reduce the hardship faced by residents and improve access to healthcare in Umuola and neighbouring communities
