Ogun State is to host the 60th edition of the National Council on Health beginning on November 6, the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, has announced.
Adeoluwa, who is the Chairman, Local Organising Committee for the event, told a news conference in Abeokuta on Saturday that the meeting would be declared open by Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
The theme of the meeting of the apex policy making body on health in Nigeria is: “Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and the Health Sector: Matters Arising.”
Ogun State had in September 2016 hosted The National Council on Finance and Economic Development and the 11th edition of the National Council on the Environment on September 17, 2017.
The government secretary, who rationalised the hosting of the meeting by the state, said it would provide it the platform to showcase its achievements, particularly in the health sector.
Adeoluwa said: “We are happy to host this convention. It is a measure of increased confidence in our administration and an attestation to the achievements we have made in the health sector since we came on board.
“We are happy that the Federal Government and the Ministry of Health considered us worthy of the hosting right and we hereby assure our people and our guests that we are fully ready.”
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, who also addressed newsmen, said medical experts from parts of the country and abroad were expected to attend the four-day event.
According to Ipaye, the meeting is also expected to chart the way forward in the country’s health sector which has been bedeviled by incessant strikes by health workers and resident doctors.
Also speaking at the news conference, a representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Akin Oyemakinde, expressed confidence in the ability of the state to host a successful council meeting.