Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, has identified enhanced healthcare delivery as a top priority in the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu renewed hope administration.
Accordingly, he said that the Federal Government will support the training of personnel in its teaching hospitals and other tertiary health institutions in the country to meet emerging challenges of healthcare delivery.
The Vice President gave the assurance on Wednesday when he received in audience, at the Presidential Villa, the management of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) led by its Chief Medical Director, Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo.
Sen. Shettima who commended the current management of the institution for the giant strides recorded over the years said the current administration is committed to supporting human capacity development in hospitals across the country.
He said, “Training is very essential; we will explore all available windows to support UMTH and other teaching hospitals in the country in the training of their personnel. We will see how our partnership with the private sector can be helpful in this regard.”
“I want to commend the CMD and his team for providing quality leadership to the hospital and all of their subordinates. There have been remarkable improvements witnessed at UMTH since his assumption of duty.
“In terms of staff morale, capacity building and the general outlook of the teaching hospital, the improvements have been massive. The expansion of the hospital from a 600-bed to a 1305-bed facility and equipped with modern facilities. The CMD has been proactive and aggressive in all that he does, including sourcing for external funding,” the VP added.
Prof. Ahidjo had earlier in his remarks, said the visit of the team was to thank the Vice President for his support to the institution which spanned over 15 years, and to present the scorecard of the hospital as well as its future plans.
The CMD said with the support of the government and other stakeholders, the hospital has expanded from a 600-bed to a 1,305-bed facility equipped with state-of-the-art machines.
He said that besides building new centres for Trauma, Dialysis, Cancer and Stroke treatment among others, the hospital boasts of over 100 professors in different areas of specialties.
The CMD however requested for more support from the Vice President to enable the institution to actualize its objectives of being an international centre of excellence in healthcare delivery and training of personnel through the construction of an electronic health institute to facilitate its digitalization project.
Other members of the delegation include the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Prof. Sanusi Ibrahim; Director of Administration, Mallam Idris Omar; Director of Clinical Services, Prof. Modu Kagu; Director of Research and Ethics, Prof. Faruk Buba; Director of Training, Dr. Abubakar Mohammed, and the Director of UMTH Kidney Centre, Prof. Ibrahim Ummate.
Stanley Nkwocha
Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications
(Office of The Vice President)
27th March, 2024
