By Abdul Kareem

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria:  In a significant boost to healthcare services in Borno State, the North East Development Commission (NEDC) has donated medical equipment valued at 15 million naira to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH).

The commission also provided a range of medical consumables to ten maternal and child health centers across the state. The distribution event, held in Maiduguri, saw Alhaji Mohammed Watsada, the NEDC’s Borno State Coordinator, reiterating the commission’s efforts to improve healthcare, especially at the grassroots level.

Watsada highlighted that the NEDC had conducted training for 135 healthcare workers on cervical cancer elimination in the past three months across the region’s six states. The donated items are part of the support package for this capacity-building program.

NEDC Borno State coordinator, Engr Watsada I  a symbolic presentation of hospital equipment to an official of Borno state PHCDA

“We are now extending these medical consumables to the Primary Healthcare Development Board for delivery to the primary healthcare centers,” Watsada said at the ceremony.

For the UMTH, the NEDC’s contribution included essential emergency equipment such as a mucus extracting machine, a ventilator, and a laboratory incubator. Watsada reaffirmed the commission’s dedication to supporting healthcare and other vital sectors to accelerate the North East’s recovery.

The equipment was warmly welcomed by representatives of UMTH’s Chief Medical Director, Malam Dahiru Hammawa, and the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Aliyu Shettima. They both agreed that the timely donation would significantly enhance the quality of services provided at the facilities.

The ten local government areas that received the medical consumables include Mobbar, Monguno, Gubio, Kaga, Mafa, Bama, Jere, Biu, Gwoza, and Askira Uba, marking a considerable advancement for healthcare in the region.