Government Cracks Down on Medical Facility for Illicit Baby Commercials, Arrest Doctor
By Chris Chikelue/Azuka Nnabuife
As the Ministry of Health, Anambra State continues to sanitize the Health Sector in line with the mission and vision of the Prof. Chukwuma Soludo's administration, a facility engaged in unhealthy and fraudulent practices has been sealed.
The facility 'Mother and Child Hospital and Maternity' located at 1 School Road, near Tansian University, Umunya, Oyi Local Government Area engaged in several illegal activities including, baby making for commercial purposes, unauthorised and unhealthy medical activities on unsuspecting members of the public.
During the operation, officials from the Ministry of Health working with security agencies arrested key staff and operatives of the facility including five pregnant underaged girls and 10 others.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike disclosed that the owner of the facility had been declared wanted since February, 2024 when himself and the state Health Facility Accreditation and Monitoring Unit and the Anti Quackery Taskforce Team visited to ascertain the legitimacy of the hospital.
Dr. Obidike said, "last year we have closed down the facility during a routine inspection of both public and private healthcare establishments in the state but six months ago it was discovered that the hospital has been reopened.
"Regrettably, the aforementioned doctor eluded capture at that time however, we have now succeeded in apprehending him with the assistance of operatives of OCHA Brigade.
"The establishment of the state Hospital Monitoring and Accreditation Unit by Governor Charles Soludo's administration has significantly contributed to the enhancement of the healthcare system throughout the state.
"The legislation that established this Unit empowers us to conduct unannounced visits to healthcare facilities both public and private, operating within the state.
"It is disheartening to witness a fellow human being, created by God, engage in deceit and exploitation, thereby jeopardizing the lives of others.
"The plight of some of the underaged pregnant girls who appear malnourished and have reportedly suffered mistreatment at the hands of the fraudulent medical practitioner, is particularly alarming.
"The wife of the Governor, Dr. Mrs. Nonye Soludo, through her initiative, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, has pledged to ensure that all individuals involved are prosecuted, and that the pregnant girls will be reunited with their families."
The commissioner spoke further, "they said that the fraudulent doctor had promised them sums of money ranging from N1 million to N1.5 million; some women who sought the services of this impostor reported being asked to pay as much as N4.5 million to have these babies when they were born.
"Some of the girls reported that they were not pregnant; the doctor and his workers will be injecting them with steroids, which is not good for the body to make them look big yet tests from other facilities tell them they are not pregnant."
Dr. Obidike added that the state government is commitment to sanitizing the state healthcare and it's service delivery, warning that unscrupulous persons who are out to destroy the state would be definitely fished out and dealt with accordingly.
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