People of the ancient town of Offa in the Offa local government area of Kwara state have called for improved collaboration between government and community stakeholders in the country for a better health care delivery system.

Speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between members of the Offa Metropolitan Club (OMC) and a clinical laboratory centre in Offa on Monday, the president of the association, Mrs. Sarah Alade, said that government cannot shoulder health care service delivery alone.

“Health care service cannot be done by government alone. The resources are not there. What we are trying to say is that stakeholders in communities can be involved in health care service delivery and government should encourage such so that we can support them in the provision of quality health care for the people”.

She said that the OMC is a private sector-driven health care intervention by members of the club established in 2022 to provide adequate and sustainable provision of quality and accessible healthcare to make a difference.

Mrs Alade, who was a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), also said that part of the ideas behind establishing the centre was to discourage medical tourism, adding that services in the medical centre would include a laboratory for the test, radiology unit, CT scan machines, theatre, x-ray, as well as a maternity unit for mother and child, among others.

She said that the centre aimed to complement the efforts of the state government, adding that it would provide affordable healthcare service delivery to members of the Offa and neighbouring communities and towns.

“Offa Metropolitan Club (OMC) was established in 2019 by members that have a shared passion to make a difference. As OMC, we are committed to making a difference by promoting the economic, social and infrastructural development, that serves not only our community but that have an impact beyond our boundary. Adequate and sustainable provision of quality and accessible healthcare is one of the fundamental foundations of making a difference.

“OMC Medical Centre, commissioned on December 23, 2022 by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, is a direct articulation of our commitment to address some of the daunting healthcare challenges we face as a state, and indeed as a country.

“The OMC Medical Centre is a model facility with readiness for clinical consultation, surgery, reference laboratory and diagnostic practice”, she said.

The OMC president explained that the MoU signed with the CLINA-LANCENT Laboratories outfit included the provision of laboratory infrastructure, equipment and testing at the OMC medical centre.