Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, has flagged off the 2025 Omituntun Free Health Mission at the Ibadan North East Local Government Secretariat, Iwo Road, Ibadan.
The comprehensive medical outreach is aimed at delivering free and quality healthcare services to residents across the 33 local government areas of the state.
The programme, which will run for six weeks, includes services such as free surgical procedures, general and specialist medical consultations, dental services, ophthalmology services, cervical cancer screening, breast examination, vital signs check, physiotherapy services, tuberculosis screening, as well as health talks and food safety education.
Speaking at the launch, Makinde said that his government decided to build the PHCs in each ward to make healthcare delivery more accessible to the people.
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Against the backdrop of the recent disclosure by the Federal Government that it plans to build 8,800 Primary Healthcare Centres across the country, the governor said that his government is ready to share its template, which has seen it build functional Category 3 Primary Healthcare Centres in most of the 351 electoral wards of the state, with the Federal Government.
The governor maintained that since the template is working in Oyo State, it would also work for the Federal Government, adding that his government would continue to focus on healthcare delivery so as to have a healthy population, which will, in turn, help to push the boundaries of economic expansion and poverty reduction.
“In the health sector, this government will continue to focus on a healthy population and tackling poverty in the state.
“Only recently, the vice president said that the federal government plans to build 8,800 primary healthcare centres across the country. Before the federal government, we started the renovation and equipment of functional PHC facilities in our 351 wards in the state.
“We are happy that we can give the federal level our template. The template has worked in Oyo State, and I am assured it would work at the federal level.
“We have made a lot of progress in terms of commitment to primary healthcare. So, we have to keep the pressure on.
“I want to use this medium to thank everyone who has played their own part towards realising the programmes and policies of this administration in the health sector. I would like to thank Temitope Alonge, professor and Muideen Olatunji, medical doctor, who have done very well.
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“I equally appreciate the Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, the chairman of Oyo State Hospital Management Board, Akin Fagbemi, and the permanent secretaries in the ministry as well as healthcare practitioners too.”
According to the governor, his government has continued to deliver on its promises across the four pillars of education, health, security and economic expansion, with its policies and programmes attracting desired results.
Governor Makinde declared that the state government has won the war against insecurity, adding that it would not sleep until residents can sleep with their two eyes closed.
He also cited the excellent performance recorded by students from the state in the recent Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the improved economy of the state, noting that these are also due to the right policies implemented by the government to improve education and expand the economy.
Governor Makinde, who noted that the state government had continued to stimulate the economy of the state by pushing about N24 billion into the economy monthly through salaries and pensions and providing infrastructure for the private sector to thrive, said his government would not relent.
Ajetunmobi, a medical doctor and the Commissioner for Health, earlier in her welcome address, appreciated the governor for his unwavering commitment to improving healthcare access to the people of the state and for transforming the health sector through robust investments in health infrastructure, human resources, and strengthening the initiatives.
She mentioned that the Free Omituntun Medical Mission would follow a clustering model, with each cluster operating for three full days for effective delivery of comprehensive healthcare and also follow up post-operatively on surgical cases on patients.
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She added that efforts are underway to facilitate the enrollment of the beneficiaries on the Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) through the OYSHIA Gateway in order to ensure continuity of care beyond the outreach.
The commissioner encouraged all beneficiaries to take responsibility for their health by keeping their service codes and following through on post-care instructions.
Akin Fagbemi, chairman of Oyo State Hospital Management Board, in his goodwill message, thanked the governor for the recent recruitment of medical personnel, which, according to him, has led to the state being granted full accreditation for physiotherapy practice, which had been denied for 30 years.
