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It is with great pleasure that I participate in today's event for the laying of the foundation stone of the new Akaki Health Centre building.
The Centre, and I want to emphasize this dimension, is the result of the dynamism and determination that characterizes the people of the Akaki community and of western Nicosia in general. It is the result of the close cooperation between the Akaki Community Council and the Ministry of Health over the last few years. A cooperation and effort that was painful and time-consuming, since it started 15 years ago and until we reached the present day it faced many problems, difficulties and challenges.
I note the decisive role played by the previous Governments, from the Government of Tassos Papadopoulos, Demetris Christofias and Nicos Anastasiades to reach today the laying of the foundation stone, I hope it is not an example to follow in relation to the intervention of the state in such projects, since it took 17 so many years to reach the present day.
Today we are laying the foundations for the realization of a vision that was spearheaded by the late late community leader Giannakis Hatzigiannis and the members of his Community Council who in 2011 succeeded in having a government plot of land granted to the community for the construction of a Health Centre. The economic crisis that followed may have delayed the progress of the project, but the perseverance and the initiatives of the residents of the Community, such as our dear friend Andreas Hatzigiannis who undertook the significant cost of the architectural plans, studies and more, gave the decisive impetus for the implementation of the project.
And I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Andreas for his practical contribution and the assumption of the estimated cost of around €200,000. As I would also like to thank the Deputy President of the Community, Mrs. Eleni Georgopoulou and the members of course of the Community Council for the substantial help and cooperation they had with the competent bodies of the Ministry of Health.
Thanks also to the Directorate and Officers of the Ministry of Health, the OKYPY, all Government Services as well as the Designers of the Project and the company that undertook the construction of the medical center. I believe that with the cooperation of all, the project will be delivered within the agreed timelines.
A Health Centre of great importance for West Nicosia. I will dare to say it with as many implications as this report will have, the West Nicosia area is for me one of the three most underdeveloped areas in terms of the State.
For the West Nicosia area, along with two other areas that I will not mention, we ought to do much more as a State.
Consider that we are opening a Health Centre today and think of the distance it will take a resident of the area from here to go to Nicosia General Hospital. And we are talking about health issues, which, along with education issues, are the most important, are the ones for which the state ought to give all its citizens the same opportunities. And it is not only the health issues that the region faces, it is the cost of water used for agricultural purposes, it is the issue of housing units, considering that most of the communities border the occupied areas and the buffer zone intervenes, as well as many other issues such as migration. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the area is among the priorities of our government.
The Akaki Health Center will have a total area of 3,318 square meters and will host 5 General Medicine clinics, Speciality Clinics, as well as a Dental Clinic. The building will also house the Wound Change Department, Community Nursing Services, Maternity and Child Protection Centre, Mental Health Services and the Health Department.
The State, and I consider that I express all my predecessors, all the Presidents of the Republic of Cyprus, we are here to serve a single principle, -especially on health issues but also on education- the one that proves through actions that Health is a non-negotiable social good that we must provide equally to all citizens of this country without exception.
Therefore, ensuring the provision of accessible, quality and effective health care is a basic obligation of the state and a top priority of our government. In order to achieve this goal, the development of close cooperation between the state, local government and the private sector is a prerequisite. The Akaki Health Centre is just such an example of collective effort and cooperation.
In particular, the organisation and effective operation of Primary Health Care Services is a priority of the Government. Our goal is, through the upgrading of the Primary Health Care Sector, to achieve the objective of decongesting and rationalizing the use of Secondary and Tertiary Health Care Services. At the same time, we aim at the widespread implementation of Prevention Programmes in the Primary Health Care sector. Considerable work has been done in recent years and we are building on this work done by further strengthening our efforts.
The implementation of the biggest social reform in our country, the introduction of the GHS on June 1, 2019, has opened new horizons in the provision of health care. Our goal is to ensure universal access of our citizens to high quality health services through an inclusive, functional, efficient and economically viable system.
Despite the challenges and difficulties, the problems that logically arise when talking about such an important and major social reform, we are determined to move forward steadfastly, having as our priorities two key elements: the provision of quality health services, because when we talk about health, the key is the quality of health services.
Despite the challenges and difficulties, the problems that logically arise when we talk about such an important and major social reform, we are determined to move forward steadfastly, having as our priorities two key elements: the provision of quality health services, because when we talk about health, the key is the quality of health services, because when we talk about health, the key is the quality of health services.
