Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State says his administration has concluded plans to send 200 students to India and other countries to study medicine.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tambuwal made the disclosure in Sokoto on Monday night at a media parley to commemorate the 2017 Democracy Day.

The governor said majority of those to be sponsored would be girls.

“Discussions are in top gear with a university in India to send one hundred youths, mostly women, to study medicine.

“This is to shore up the number of women medical doctors in the state, hence, encourage more women to seek medical services in the hospitals.

“We are also discussing with other universities across the world, with a view to send another batch of one hundred youths to study various medical professional fields like pharmacy, dentistry, radiography and medical laboratory science, among others.”

Tambuwal explained that the programme was part of ongoing efforts to reposition the education sector in the state.

The governor stressed that the administration would continue to “take the bull by the horn” and encourage more people in the state to acquire qualitative education in spite of dwindling resources.

“This is sequel to the desire of the state government to provide more efficient healthcare services to the people of the state,” he said.

Tambuwal also spoke on other interventions in the health sector, saying that the government had set up a malaria control agency, with a view to taming the disease, which he described as deadlier than HIV/AIDS and cancer.

He said that a contributory health agency has been established by the government to utilise some idle funds from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to provide affordable healthcare services to the people.

“The state government had since provided N100 million as take-off grant to the agency, while the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, had also paid N1 million to it.

“Communities across the state are also being sensitised to key into the scheme, with a view to ensuring state-wide coverage,” Tambuwal added.

He disclosed that the government had since brought all primary healthcare services under one roof, to enhance access and efficiency. (NAN)