By Philip Yatai

Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), says new hospitals are underway in the territory to improve access to quality healthcare.

Fasawe disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, during a capacity development training for health managers in the FCT.

She added that more than six to seven world-standard hospitals have opened in the territory, adding that additional ones would be constructed to bridge the access gap.

“You will soon start to see new hospitals in the FCT, but we can’t build new hospitals when there is no adequate human resource.

“Our doctors are running away but we are working on that right now,” she said.

She said that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike-led FCTA was already working on improving human resource for health.

She said with the FCT minister that does things to perfection, the amount that has gone to the health sector in 2025 was unprecedented.

“We are working on improving our health systems now beyond building new hospitals.

“Under his administration, we have been able to increase our health workforce by over a 1000.

“We have also increased salaries of some health workers with some receiving doubled their salaries,” she said.

The mandate secretary added that a reasonable budgetary allocation had been earmarked for human resource, adding that for the first time FCT doctors were paid uniform allowance.

“I want to assure you that this administration is not taking health lightly and this annual operational plan will detail everything we need – how much we need, including miscellaneous.

“I know that the FCT Minister will do the right thing as he has started doing the right things towards repositioning the health sector,” she said.

Fasawe noted that the country was gripping with so many demands across all sectors but limited resources to address the needs, particularly the health sector needs.

She, however, said she was proud of President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda”, which was already transforming the health sector.

She particularly said that road projects being executed and inaugurated in the capital city and across the area councils were significantly improving access to health facilities.

She commended all the doctors and other health workers working in FCT secondary facilities for the cordial working relationship with the FCT Administration.

“Since the Wike-led FCTA came on board, we witnessed only one warning strike and within three days the minister was able to resolve the issues.

“So, I want to commend the doctors that work in FCT who despite the difficult working conditions, have not gone on strike,” she said.

The mandate secretary however noted that in the area council, there was a general strike by the workers that lasted for more than three months.

She explained that primary health care centres were under the purview of area councils, adding that although they went on strike, they still provided essential services.

“The labour unions were kind enough to leave essential services throughout the strike.

“Schools were closed, other places were closed, but I can say for a fact that the last immunisation exercise, for the first time FCT recorded 101 per cent achievement, in spite of the strike.

“So, we are looking forward to a situation where doctors that have gone abroad will start to come back here to practice and we are starting to see a lot of that.

“What we need to do is look after the welfare of doctors,” she noted. (NAN)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru