The Federal Government has distributed drugs, ambulances and emergency obstetric and newborn care equipment valued at about N10 billion to health facilities in Bauchi State.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, disclosed this during the inauguration of the distribution exercise in Bauchi on Saturday.
He said the government also provided free delivery kits for mothers and reproductive and sexual health commodities to facilities across the state.
Pate said the intervention is part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery and improve maternal, newborn and child health services in the state.
According to him, general hospitals and 20 primary healthcare centres will benefit from essential medical equipment, while another 20 facilities will receive drugs and other healthcare commodities across 15 local government areas.
“The equipment includes labour and delivery tools, theatre equipment for caesarean sections, neonatal intensive care equipment, maternity laboratory equipment, oxygen supplies and blood pressure monitors,” he said.
Pate added that the federal government provided 15 tricycle ambulances, six conventional ambulances and 17,000 maternity kits for pregnant women in the state. He said the interventions align with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to improve access to quality healthcare, especially for women, children and vulnerable groups.
He noted that over 45 million Nigerians access healthcare services every quarter through investments in primary healthcare infrastructure, equipment, commodities and human resources. Other projects in the state include the upgrade of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Azare; establishment of the North-East Vesicovaginal Fistula Centre in Ningi; and ongoing upgrade at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, ATBU-TH.
The minister also cited the construction and revitalisation of 100 primary healthcare centres through federal-state collaboration.
Governor Bala Mohammed, represented by his deputy, Mr. Auwal Jatau, lauded the gesture, saying it would reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in underserved rural communities. He pledged effective utilisation of the equipment.
The Chief Medical Director of ATBU-TH, Prof. Yusuf Jibrin, also commended the federal government for prioritising healthcare reforms and assured that the equipment would be deployed to improve service delivery.
