Dr Amina El-Imam, Kwara State's Commissioner for Health, has said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has transformed the state's health sector, describing his seven years in office as "a lifetime" of remarkable progress.

Speaking in an interview with Saturday Editor Onochie Anibeze and Kwara State Correspondent Demola Akinyemi, Dr El-Imam highlighted significant improvements in healthcare delivery, partnerships, infrastructure, and key health indices under the current administration.

She noted that before Governor AbdulRazaq assumed office in 2019, major United Nations agencies like UNICEF had exited Kwara State due to issues such as counterpart funding. Today, those agencies have returned, and new partners like UNFPA have come on board.

"Kwara is now counted among the best-performing states in healthcare," she said.

Citing data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2023/2024, Dr El-Imam revealed that Kwara now has the lowest under-five mortality rate in Nigeria at 14 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to the national average of 43-45 per 1,000.

She attributed this achievement to deliberate investments in immunisation, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and service delivery through strong partnerships with UNICEF and other agencies.

On infrastructure, the Commissioner disclosed that the administration has renovated, equipped, and solarised 193 primary healthcare centres under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund. The General Hospital, Ilorin, has also been upgraded and converted into the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital, now accredited by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

Dr El-Imam further stated that the government has increased health workers' salaries twice in two years and aligned them with federal structures to stem brain drain. She also mentioned the establishment of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods to tackle malnutrition.

On disease control and emergency response, she highlighted Kwara's strong performance during outbreaks of cholera, COVID-19, measles, and Lassa fever, noting the state's proactive measures and the establishment of an Integrated Emergency Operations Centre.

The Commissioner praised Governor AbdulRazaq's leadership style, describing him as "not the loud type" but a gentleman whose results speak for themselves.

"He has converted seven years into a lifetime in the health sector in Kwara. He has transformed Kwara in many ways," she said.

Dr El-Imam acknowledged remaining challenges, particularly in staffing and utilisation of facilities, but expressed confidence that the state is on the right path, backed by verifiable data and growing partnerships.

She concluded that the governor's legacy in the health sector includes the establishment of strong tertiary healthcare, massive strengthening of primary healthcare, emergency preparedness, and significant expansion of health insurance coverage from zero in 2019 to over 100,000 people currently, with plans to reach 150,000.