Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel in line with his promise to provide quality health care services, has commissioned a newly instituted Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Uyo – the State’s capital.
The Governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem commissioned the State-of-the-art facility constructed by his administration and upgraded by the United State Agency for international Development (USAID) on Tuesday June 23, 2020.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is coming few weeks after a world class Isolation Center was commissioned by Governor Emmanuel at Ituk Mbang, Uruan local Government Area on Friday, May 29, 2020.
In his speech, Dr. Ekuwem stated that “The COVID-19 pandemic which is ravaging the world today has been an eye-opener for us to review our health policies and provide matching infrastructure”.
The SSG also espoused on the vision of the State Government for the 22-room facility which houses the EOC situation room and communications center, also comprises a conference hall, Four (4) call rooms and other amenities.
He said, “The vision of the State Government is that the EOC will be a hub, not just for COVID-19 response but for all other medical emergencies and security challenges as it will have coordinating facilities.”
Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong, appreciated the continued support of the USAID through Jhpiego and other partners.
Dr. Ukpong stated that the establishment of the EOC, inclusive of communications center, will facilitate 24-hour functionality and enable the State to have a faster response time as it concerns COVID-19 and several other diseases of public health interest.
The set-up of the Communication Call Center, and COVID-19 situation rooms within the EOC was carried out with funding from the USAID through the Reaching Impact, Saturation and Epidemic Controlled by Jhpiego in collaboration with Data Fi, working closely with the Akwa Ibom State Government.
The Emergency Operation Center will enable centralized, real-time monitoring and predictive modeling for enhanced coordination of activities as well as informed decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies.
It will also serve citizenry by facilitating the seamless coordination and integration of the State government actions to curb and contain the spread of the dreaded virus.
Meanwhile, a virtual meeting on Google meet was convened before the official commissioning of the facility.
Prominent in the attendance were; US Ambassador to Nigeria- Mary Beth Leonard, Deputy Chief of Mission, United States – Kattleen Fitzgibbon, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Multilateral and Donor Agencies – Mr. Ndiana-Abasi Udom, State Epidemiologist – Dr Ntiense Udoette, Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) – Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, key members of the State COVID-19 Task force and senior representatives of JHPIEGO, RISE and SIDHAS.
