President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate upgrade of key health infrastructure and equipment across all six geo-political zones of the country.
A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said the projects are in line with President Tinubu administration’s vision of overhauling the health and social welfare sector for enhanced service delivery to all Nigerians.
The projects will see the selected institutions upgraded and re-equip with state-of-the-art medical facilities.
They are divided into two sections: six teaching hospitals and ten other critical healthcare facilities, distributed across geopolitical zones.
Additionally, it revealed that the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would work together to implement the projects.
The approved projects, according to the statement, were conceived as part of President Tinubu’s bid to ensure that world class cancer diagnosis and care is accessible across the country.
While the teaching hospitals are for the establishment of oncology and nuclear medicine centres per facility, the ten healthcare service expansion projects will be across the fields of radiology, clinical pathology, medical and radiation oncology, and cardiac catheterization
The statement lists the six teaching hospitals as follows: Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina (Northwest); University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Jos (North-Central); Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria (Northwest);
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University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Teaching Hospital, Southeast; and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos (Southwest).
The following ten essential medical facilities are the ones that will get service expansion projects: Northwest: Radiology, clinical pathology, medicine, and radiation oncology are all provided by Reference Hospital in Kaduna.
Southeast: Medical Diagnostic Centre Complex, Enugu — (Radiology, clinical pathology, medical & radiation oncology)
Northwest: Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto — (Diagnostic and intervention radiology, clinical pathology, and cardiac catheterization)
Southwest: University College Hospital, Ibadan — (Diagnostic and intervention radiology, clinical pathology, and cardiac catheterization)
South-south: University of Uyo Teaching Hospital — (Radiology and clinical pathology)
Northeast: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi — (Radiology and clinical pathology)
South-south: Federal Medical Centre, Asaba — (Radiology and clinical pathology)
North-central: Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre Complex, Ilorin — (Radiology and clinical pathology)
North-central: Jos University Teaching Hospital — (Radiology and clinical pathology)
Northeast: Federal Medical Centre, Nguru — (Radiology and clinical pathology).
The statement explained the reasons for the steps, saying “upgrading health infrastructure and equipment is a top priority of President Tinubu’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.”
“To advance this landmark effort, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, will carry out the comprehensive upgrade of cancer-treatment infrastructure and other critical developments in six tertiary hospitals across several geopolitical zones, in addition to the full renovation and expansion of previous investments to improve broad-based access to high-quality healthcare in all six geopolitical zones.
“These critical projects, set to be delivered within 12-18 months, will improve screening and diagnostics for communicable and non-communicable diseases; reduce mortality rates and improve outcomes for non-communicable diseases; create considerable employment opportunities for clinical, administrative, and managerial personnel across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones, all while building the capacity of clinical personnel in advanced procedures, diagnostics and treatment modalities, in accordance with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu”, the statement said.
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