In furtherance of its healthcare services programmes, Offa Metropolitan Club (OMC)in Offa local government area of Kwara State, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a clinical laboratory centre to ensure adequate healthcare delivery in the town.

Speaking during the signing of the MoU, the president of OMC, Mrs Sarah Alade, called for an improved collaboration between government and community stakeholders in the country for a better healthcare delivery system.

Alade, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that the government cannot shoulder healthcare service delivery alone.

“Healthcare service cannot be done by the 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 the government should encourage such so that we can support them in the provision of quality health care for the people,” Alade stated.

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 for the Offa people.

She also said that part of the ideas behind establishing the centre was to discourage medical tourism, adding that the centre aimed to complement the efforts of the state government in providing affordable health care services to the residents of Offa and neighbouring communities.

The OMC president explained that the MoU signed with the laboratory centre included provision of laboratory infrastructure, equipment and testing at the OMC Medical Centre.