Alia Hyacinth Iormem

Health section

To domesticate the Residency Training Act, to encourage our resident doctors to stay and also perform optimally.

Sponsor Benue indigenes for further studies in the health care sector via a bond scheme to prevent brain drain.

Strengthen all health institutions in the state to deliver efficient pro-poor health services.

To partner with UNICEF and other organizations for free treatment of VVF.

Introduce biometric data capture for attendance at work in all the health institutions in the state as an aspect of e-governance to ensure dedication to duty.

Facilitate the procurement and installation of functional ventilators in all health institutions, especially general hospitals.

Upgrade or renovate building facilities at all general hospitals to ensure that doctors are present in the quarters for duty calls.

Strengthen the College of Health Sciences of Benue State University through the recruitment of high-level staff, equipment, and consumables.

To make healthcare services affordable and accessible by strengthening the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS), which shall cover civil servants, businessmen and women, as well as farmers.

Provide an ultra-modern laboratory with quality equipment, facilities, and technology at BSU Teaching Hospital.

Revive the Dialysis Center at the BSU Teaching Hospital.

Establishment of at least a functional diagnostic laboratory in each senatorial district of Benue State.

Upgrade and equip all Primary Health Centers (PHCs) via the Primary Healthcare Board in the council wards.

Upgrade the status of the School of Health Tech- nology, Agasha, to that of a college.

Accelerate the training of young doctors and other health workers in specialized areas.

Return the process of registering and licensing all healthcare service providers in the state to the Ministry of Health, and ensure continuous monitoring.

Support the Anti-Quackery Committee in monitoring health care activities to fish out quacks.

Respond accordingly by procuring adequate vaccines for medical emergencies.

Pursue vigorously public enlightenment and advocacy on HIV/AIDS and increase access to free anti-retroviral drugs, as well as preventive measures for dreaded diseases.

Introduce free ante-natal and normal delivery services to pregnant women in all public health centers and facilities across the state.

Encourage the development of drug management systems, as well as the outsourcing of drug management services to pharmaceutical companies.

Encourage the outsourcing of specialized health services and operations.

Questions to ask Alia Hyacinth Iormem

1. By when will the Residency Training Act be domesticated in Benue State, and what are the specific legislative and administrative steps on your roadmap to achieve this?
2. What is the projected annual budget to sponsor Benue indigenes for further health-sector studies under the proposed bond scheme, and how will this be financed within the state budget?
3. What are the key terms of the proposed bond scheme for sponsored trainees (duration of service, penalty for default, monitoring mechanism), and which agency will administer and enforce it?
4. How will you define and track “efficient pro-poor health services” in state health institutions—what specific service, cost, and outcome indicators will you publish and how frequently?
5. Which state ministry or agency will lead the partnership with UNICEF on free VVF treatment, and what targets (number of surgeries, facilities covered, patient selection criteria) will you commit to annually?
6. How will the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme be financed—what are the premium levels, government subsidies, and expected enrollment targets for civil servants, traders, and farmers over the first three years?
7. What service coverage and financial protection targets (e.g., percentage of outpatient and inpatient costs covered, reduction in out-of-pocket spending) will the CHIS commit to each year?
8. For biometric attendance in all health institutions, what procurement model, data protection safeguards, and system uptime/maintenance arrangements will be adopted, and who will manage the data?
9. By what dates will PHC upgrades be completed in each council ward, and what minimum service package (staffing, drugs, lab, water and power) will each upgraded PHC be required to meet?