AS part of efforts to boost tertiary health care, reverse brain drain and discourage Nigerians from going abroad for medical treatment, the Federal Government has taken delivery of N1.5 billion worth of hospital equipment.
The Federal Government has also started an assessment of a N29 billion teaching hospital refurbishment project with Vamed Engineering to determine its impact on tertiary health care in the country.
The Federal government/Vamed Engineering project was initiated in 2002 by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo Administration with a N17 billion contract to refurbish eight teaching hospitals in the six geopolitical zones of the country. The contract was later upgraded in 2007 to include six more teaching hospitals in a N12 billion contract.
The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), yesterday in Lagos inspected and took delivery of 52 containers containing diagnostic and therapeutic equipment as well as support equipment, emergency response equipment, among others.
FMOH’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Linus Awute, while inspecting the equipment at Lilypond Area Command, Apapa Area Command and Tincan Island Port in Lagos yesterday, said:
“Rehabilitation, equipping, capacity deepening and widening of our health care facilities are part of the answer to health care challenges in Nigeria. This will gradually bridge the gap between us and the rest of the advanced countries. It will win the confidence of our people and change the general apathy they have towards health care in Nigeria. It will introduce efficiency and bring a measurable result outcomes.”
Awute who represented the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the state-of-the-art equipment and contemporary technology plus adequate and skilled manpower, prudently or properly managed, can improve substantially the quality of health care.
He said the FMOH has concluded pre-installation work at the designated teaching hospitals last month and also established a biomedical engineering centre to make for sustainable capacity development and utilization.
“We believe that the provision of modern tools, equipment and trained hands will inevitably trigger commitment. It will also encourage staff to give their best in the interest of patients who access health care,” Awute said.
The Permanent Secretary said the equipment was procured by the ministry based on need assessment of the country’s health system. He said order for the equipment was placed in 2009 but the delivery was delayed because of policy changes. He revealed that it took the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan to secure a waiver for the FMOH to take delivery of the equipment two years after.
In a related development, Prof Chukwu has asked health professionals to show increased commitment and concern for improving the health of Nigerians.
“Help us reduce the incidence of medical tourism and the foreign exchange exported to other countries; let us transform the Nigerian health system by making the brain drain a plus rather than a minus,” he said at a news conference yesterday in Abuja to commemorate the 2011 Diaspora Day.
The Federal Government has also started an assessment of a N29 billion teaching hospital refurbishment project with Vamed Engineering to determine its impact on tertiary health care in the country.
The Federal government/Vamed Engineering project was initiated in 2002 by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo Administration with a N17 billion contract to refurbish eight teaching hospitals in the six geopolitical zones of the country. The contract was later upgraded in 2007 to include six more teaching hospitals in a N12 billion contract.
The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), yesterday in Lagos inspected and took delivery of 52 containers containing diagnostic and therapeutic equipment as well as support equipment, emergency response equipment, among others.
FMOH’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Linus Awute, while inspecting the equipment at Lilypond Area Command, Apapa Area Command and Tincan Island Port in Lagos yesterday, said:
“Rehabilitation, equipping, capacity deepening and widening of our health care facilities are part of the answer to health care challenges in Nigeria. This will gradually bridge the gap between us and the rest of the advanced countries. It will win the confidence of our people and change the general apathy they have towards health care in Nigeria. It will introduce efficiency and bring a measurable result outcomes.”
Awute who represented the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the state-of-the-art equipment and contemporary technology plus adequate and skilled manpower, prudently or properly managed, can improve substantially the quality of health care.
He said the FMOH has concluded pre-installation work at the designated teaching hospitals last month and also established a biomedical engineering centre to make for sustainable capacity development and utilization.
“We believe that the provision of modern tools, equipment and trained hands will inevitably trigger commitment. It will also encourage staff to give their best in the interest of patients who access health care,” Awute said.
The Permanent Secretary said the equipment was procured by the ministry based on need assessment of the country’s health system. He said order for the equipment was placed in 2009 but the delivery was delayed because of policy changes. He revealed that it took the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan to secure a waiver for the FMOH to take delivery of the equipment two years after.
In a related development, Prof Chukwu has asked health professionals to show increased commitment and concern for improving the health of Nigerians.
“Help us reduce the incidence of medical tourism and the foreign exchange exported to other countries; let us transform the Nigerian health system by making the brain drain a plus rather than a minus,” he said at a news conference yesterday in Abuja to commemorate the 2011 Diaspora Day.
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