Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has received an award for Distinguished Leadership and Outstanding Contributions to Healthcare Delivery from the Medical and Health Workers' Union of Nigeria (MHWUN). The award was presented at Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday evening by the National President of MHWUN, on behalf of the Enugu State Council and union representatives. MHWUN cited the construction of 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres across all political wards in the state, the near-completion of a 300-bed ultramodern Enugu International Hospital, and the revamping of secondary healthcare facilities as key achievements. The union also praised Mbah for fully implementing the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), approving consequential adjustments for workers, recruiting 2,500 new health workers, and ensuring prompt salary payments.
Additional reforms highlighted include sustained training programmes, strengthened immunisation campaigns, expanded antenatal and family planning services, and the provision of free daily balanced meals to 300,000 schoolchildren in Smart Green Schools. MHWUN noted that these efforts have drawn recognition from the World Health Organisation, calling them global endorsements of Mbah's leadership. Dr Nnenna Oraedu, State Chairman of MHWUN Enugu, pledged ongoing cooperation with the administration. Governor Mbah, accepting the award, credited his team and reaffirmed commitment to health sector transformation. He disclosed that over 50 per cent of the state's budget across three cycles had been allocated to education and health, with a recent approval of N4 billion to equip 100 additional primary healthcare centres. Mbah said the 260 centres are expected to be fully operational before the end of May. He also donated an operational bus to MHWUN in response to challenges raised by the union.
Peter Mbah is leveraging tangible healthcare investments to build political goodwill, using the full implementation of CONHESS and the construction of 260 primary healthcare centres as proof of delivery in a sector long neglected across Nigeria.
The union's praise and the WHO's recognition are not just endorsements of policy but signals of a governance model that ties economic ambition — like raising Enugu's GDP from $4.4 billion to $30 billion — directly to public service reform. By funding infrastructure, staffing facilities, and paying salaries promptly, Mbah is reshaping expectations of what state-level accountability can look like.
Ordinary citizens in Enugu State, especially patients in rural wards and health workers who now earn full CONHESS benefits, are experiencing measurable improvements in job conditions and access to care. The free meals for 300,000 schoolchildren also extend the health agenda into early life outcomes, linking nutrition to long-term development.
This level of coordinated investment in both infrastructure and human capital reflects a rare consistency in state-level governance, setting a benchmark that contrasts sharply with the stagnation seen in many other state health systems.
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