Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has approved the immediate release of the 2025 counterpart funding for various health-related programmes across the state.
The State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Ekem John, disclosed this on Thursday while interacting with journalists during a ministerial briefing at the Ministry of Health’s conference room in Uyo.
Dr. John said the funding covers key health programmes, including health insurance, primary healthcare, immunization, family planning, and nutrition. “His Excellency Governor Umo Eno not only approved the funding but also signed for its release before the end of January 2026 for all our programmes. So, immunisation, family planning, nutrition, and health insurance are all covered by that funding, and this year, we are ready to work on these areas,” he said.
The commissioner highlighted major policy reform initiatives, noting that the ministry focused on strengthening infrastructure, improving staff welfare, training, and enhancing service delivery to produce better health outcomes during the year under review.
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He also highlighted sectoral achievements and challenges, particularly in the areas of leprosy and tuberculosis control. “If you look at the TB indices, Akwa Ibom is doing very well. Last year alone, we commissioned five portable X-ray machines with the support of the Global Fund. All suspected TB patients in the health facilities where these machines are installed are to have their X-rays free of charge,” he said.
On HIV/AIDS, Dr. John said the ministry has seen improvements in reporting despite challenges. “For HIV/AIDS, this is one area where we have not done too well, but in terms of reporting, there has been an improvement. There are now about 168,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS who have been identified in Akwa Ibom State. This is progress because it’s down from over 200,000 previously. The reduction is due to auditing and eliminating cases of double registration for anti-retroviral drugs. Today, 99 per cent of those who have HIV are aware of their status, though a key challenge remains that some people living with HIV do not even know they are infected,” he added.