The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has reaffirmed its commitment to improving healthcare access in the Niger Delta. The Commission pledged support for the Care365 Health Hub’s innovation in the health sector.
The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, announced this during the official launch of Care365 Health Hub’s new product. The initiative, designed to redefine healthcare delivery in Nigeria, was unveiled at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The event was chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It was also attended by former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Chairman of Care365 Health Hub, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), and Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, who officially unveiled the Care365 system.
During a panel discussion, Dr Ogbuku spoke about the Commission’s medical outreach programmes. He explained that these programmes had delivered life-saving services to underserved communities in the Niger Delta.
He said the introduction of Care365’s advanced equipment would significantly strengthen these efforts. According to him, it would help the Commission reach more people and deepen its impact across the region. Stressing the importance of wellness, he stated that “health is wealth, and wealth is health.”
The NDDC boss noted that the Commission was working with healthcare partners such as the World Health Organisation. He said programmes like the Care365 Health Hub would provide innovative healthcare solutions and promote community health outreach.
He explained that partnerships were designed to expand access to quality healthcare. They would also address specific health challenges in the Niger Delta and ensure sustainable medical services for vulnerable groups.
Ogbuku emphasised that the NDDC was an early adopter of the Care365 system. He said this showed the Commission’s proactive stance in ensuring that people in the Niger Delta benefit from modern healthcare delivery.
He also reaffirmed the Commission’s readiness to expand collaboration with both local and international partners. He encouraged Nigerians to adopt healthier lifestyles, stressing that eating well and exercising regularly were key to complementing new healthcare technologies.
Ogbuku explained that the Commission had sustained its flagship free medical outreach programme. The initiative provides healthcare services to vulnerable populations in the Niger Delta.
He assured that the NDDC would continue with its health programmes. He said the Commission would strengthen partnerships and make sure patients had access to medical services even after outreach missions ended.
“We have our free medical outreach, which we carry out in the nine states of the Niger Delta. Initially, we carry out the programme once a year, but due to the high demand, we have decided to make it twice every year. The one for this year was flagged off by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Bayelsa,” he said.
“For us in NDDC, we believe that health is wealth, and for the nation to be wealthy, the nation needs to be healthy. So every individual’s life is significant to us. We believe that the vulnerable people are the ones we need to reach out to. We came up with the digital health programme where we are registering the vulnerable people in our communities in partnership with the World Health Organisation. In the first phase, which we were supposed to register about one million persons, we have registered over 500 people who have been forwarded to the National Social Register to ensure that they have access to health insurance,” he added.