A bill to establish the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe which was sponsored by Senator Danjuma Goje representing Gombe Central Senatorial district on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, scaled second reading at the Senate.
Before the bill was passed, Senator Goje in his lead debate submitted that it was the yearning of his Constituents and the entire Gombe people to have a federal medical facility established to bridge the gap that was inherent between primary and tertiary health institutions in the State.
The former governor explained that accessibility and affordability to medicare were strong reasons driving the yearning for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Deba, Gombe State.
He lamented that communicable diseases were prevalent in parts of the State which continued to ravage communities that were far from available medical facilities currently, stressing that patients can not access hospitals for proper diagnosis due to distance.
He said “Communicable diseases have continued to ravage communities due to distance between the communities and tertiary health care institutions.
“Patients cannot Specialist hospitals where their ailments can be properly diagnosed and adequate treatment given. This unfortunate situation has also compounded the challenge of maternal and infant mortality.
While seeking the support of Senators for the bill to pass, the lawmaker was clear on Nigeria National Health Policy, stating that a Federal Medical Center is a tertiary health institution that is directly supervised by the Federal government, arguing that establishing the FMC in Deba would bring the presence of government at the Centre to the rural dwellers in Gombe State.
He further submitted that the Federal Medical Centre as proposed would perform a multi-disciplinary space for treatment, research, harnessing science, and developing innovative means of tackling the numerous health challenges in the State.
After contributions to the debate on the importance of establishing a Federal Medical Centre in Gombe State in the Northeast, Nigeria by some Senators, the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan in his remark noted that the tertiary health institution would complement the effort of health facilities.
He referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) to turn in reports in four weeks.
