Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has vowed to end medical quackery as he inaugurated a committee to arrest offenders in the state.
Nwifuru disclosed this on Thursday while speaking with newsmen shortly after the installation of the 11th President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria Ebonyi State chapter, Mrs Lilian Nwobasi.
The Governor, represented by the commissioner for health, Mr Moses Ekuma, stated the readiness of the state government to partner the Association to fight female genital mutilation and gender based violence.
He said, “The state ministry of health is ready to eradicate medical quackery in the state; that’s why the state anti-quackery was inaugurated.
“The committee has been doing its best to ensure that medical quacks are shown their way out of Ebonyi State. This is because they cause more harm than good. Their activities have resulted in lots of untimely deaths of our people.
“What we want to do now is to partner the Medical Women Association and involve communities in the fight against medical quackery in the state.
“Before anybody should set up a medical facility, they must show evidence or a signed document showing that the ministry of health has satisfied such a person fit to embark on such a thing,” he stated.
Speaking further, Nwifuru denied an alleged outbreak of cholera in one of the Local Government Areas in Ebonyi south senatorial zone.
“There is no confirmed case of cholera outbreak in Ebonyi State. It has not come to my notice that there is any outbreak of cholera in the state,” he stressed.
Responding, the new President of MWAN, Mrs. Lilian Nwobasi said that one of the major blueprints of the association is to collaborate with the state government in the fight against medical quackery, female genital mutilation and gender based violence.
“Quackery is a huge menace, when someone comes to the hospital quite late, you see that the person has gone to an unqualified person who has caused more damage than the patient initially came with.
“Since the state government already had an anti-quackery unit, the Medical Women Association will be creating an awareness on this, telling the people the dangers of patronizing quacks,” she stated.
