Mr Ian McConville, Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria
THE Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria has built a fully equipped (with the state of the art) health centre for Agojeju Odo community in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State, describing the project as his passion and love for the health of women and children.
The High Commissioner, Mr Ian McConville, disclosed this at Agojeju Odo, a local community in Omala Local Government Area during the commissioning of the multi million naira health centre built and donated by the wife of the Commissioner, Libby Mccutchan, as part of her pet project.
The high commissioner noted that his wife who was trained as a nurse and a midwife, was pained by the high rate of infant and maternal mortality prevalent in rural areas, saying that they were ever ready to support causes that will reduce sufferings of the rural poor.
Ian Mcconvile stated that they were interested in the physical health of the rural people who could not access health care due to it high cost, stressing that he was overwhelmed by the commitment and enthusiasm of Mr Jerome Agi, one of the sons of the community who bankrolled the counterpart fund for the project.
He added that although, the people of Australia lived in an organised urban society, they shared in common a lot of similarities with Nigerians, saying that he was surprised to see gemelina tree in front of the clinic which he hinted has its origin from Australia, adding it has confirmed their oneness with the community.
On the security challenges facing Nigeria, he noted that with the complex nature of the country with diverse ethnicity and religion, only concerted efforts by all citizens can resolve the impasse, assuring that the country has the potentials to resolve the problem.
In his remarks, the member representing Omala Local government Area in the state House of Assembly, Honourable Aliyu Akuh, enjoined the envoy not to abandon the area as more assistance in the area of pipe borne water, agriculture and ICT were still needed, saying that their wealth of experience and expertise will be of great help for the people.
He urged the local government council to, as a matter of urgency, deploy medical personnel to man the centre while soliciting for the provision of drugs and consumables.
Earlier, the wife of the governor, Hajia Halimat Wada, commended the envoy for choosing the community for the project and assured that she will work in partnership with the high commission in the reduction of child and maternal death.
