The Minister of Health , Dr.Osagie Ehanire , has commissioned an Infectious Diseases Isolation and Treatment Centre at the Federal Medical Center, Birnin Kebbi.
The Minister, who was represented by the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, also commissioned ten other projects.
They comprised of a Molecular Laboratory and Flameless Incinerator, ten bed Intensive Care Unit, NHIS Complex, Drug Information Centre , Out-Patient Dispensing Unit, and Digital X- Ray Machines.
Others were: An Amenity Ward, Maternity Complex Phase 1 and foundation laying of phase 2, House Officers’ Quarters, Power House, Phase 3, Waste Management Site and C-arm Machine, other Theatre equipment and instruments, among others.
The Minister said that, the projects were classical manifestation of the Federal Ministry of Health’s efforts under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to tame the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic and provide affordable healthcare to Nigerians.
According to him, the new infectious diseases isolation and treatment center was executed through the COVID-19 Intervention fund, while other projects were done outside the funds.
He said: “ This investiture diseases isolation centre and Molecular laboratory are provided in all the tertiary health institutions in Nigeria.
“They are Federal Government projects executed through COVID-19 intervention fund, established to manage the pandemic’s challenges, during and beyond COVID- 19, in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari’s next level agenda.”
Ehanire furrher commended the Board of Directors, Management and Unions in the centre, for the existing harmonious working relationship.
He pointed out, the happy development has brought about the myriad of successes recorded in the execution of the projects and their subsequent commissioning .
“The development we are achieving today could not have happened without the industrial harmony, between the management in one hand and between the management and the unions on the other hand,” he averred.
He called on the Hospital’s authorities, as well as the beneficiaries to observe strict maintenance culture for the facilities to last longer.
“ I can not complete this address without reminding the management of this centre about the critical importance of the gigantic projects we are commissioning today on the culture of sustaining maintenance of the projects,” the Minister, averred.
The Minister has also lauded Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu for supporting FMC, Birnin Kebbi, as well as his Wife , Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, towards her untiring invaluable efforts in cancer prevention and treatment in the state and country, at large.
He averred: “ The State is forthcoming in the area of maternal and child mortality, the state government is consistently mobilising health personnel through medical outreach programs, ” he said.
He also called on the Governor to continue to sustain his support to healthcare delivery in the state.
Earlier, Dr Aliyu Balarabe, the Medical Director of the Centre, said that the federal government was able to complete the projects with the determination of the Federal Ministry of Health to build a robust healthcare infrastructure in line with the transformation and the next level agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said that, the hospital, as one of the leading referral centre provides accessible, affordable and qualitative emergency care, inpatient care, outpatient care and other specialised services to teeming patients’ population.
“The population has grown to over 100,000 outpatient visits and 13,000 inpatient admissions annually.
“The delivery of the services is being administered within the context of the National Health Act and paying cognisance to the rights and privileges of healthcare providers, healthcare personnel and the users.
” Our specialised procedures include: Endoscope procedures, laparoscope surgeries, endourologic procedures, plastic and reconstructive procedures, total knee and hip replacement surgeries, as well as spine decompression and stabilization procedures,” he said.
He also revealed that, an institutional cancer registry was established with the support of Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, in addition to the population based registry in the State.
“It seeks to provide cancer medicines at over 50 per cent reduced costs as the FMC and Kebbi Medical Centre, Kalgo are the first Hospitals in our categories so far to be included in the CAP programme,” Balarabe said.
He thanked Gov. Atiku Bagudu for his tremendous support to the hospital and management during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and his Wife, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu for the donation of Mothers’ Room to the Centre.
The MD lamented that, inadequate manpower, sophisticated equipment, inadequate funding, especially overhead to deal with increasing demands of power, payment of security, cleaners and capacity building as some of the major challenges facing the centre.
Director, Health Emergency, John Olade John, who represented the Director General of NCDC , Dr.Chikwe A. Ihekweazu, said that. before the start of the pandemic, the agency had monitored the trends in transmission of COVID -19, Laboratories were mapped out, planning made to scale up capacity of health workers, as well as issuing out advisories.
He said that, seventeen months later, as at 4th July, 2021 Nigeria had over 167 thousand cases, over 164 thousand recoveries and over 2000 deaths.
He said that, the center had reduced COVID-19 pandemic nationwide in its quest for health security of the people.
“The NCDC has deployed unique surveillance system throughout the country aimed at recieving relavant data and paved way for quick decision and intervention ,” he said.
He added: ” The center has increased capacity training of personnel aimed at improving the understanding of the disease.
‘ Since the beginning of COVID-19 19 outbreak, NCDC has been in touch with the Team in Kebbi and supported in different ways,one being the establishment of an Emergency Operation Center in 2019 which has now served, as well in the coordination of disease:s outbreak response, especially COVID-19
” The provision of vehicles to Kebbi State for outbreak response through the Regional Disease Surveillance System Enhancement Project ( REDISSE), ,the optimisation of gene expert machines for molecular diagnosis are all part of our support to the protection of the health of people of Kebbi State,”‘he averred.
In his address, the Chairman, Board of the Management of the FMC, Prince Abdulmalik Haruna-Afegbua, commended the harmonious working relationship between the board, Management and the host community.
He said ” The centre has accelerated growth and development under the leadership of Dr. Balarabe.”
The Chairman further expressed the desire to be more determined in their collective quest for providing succour to the citizens, through good healthcare service delivery as envisaged by the Federal Ministry of Health and Presidency.
He commeded the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the necessary empowerment for infrastructural development in all health institutions across the country.
In his remarks, the Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Babale Umar Yauri, appreciated Federal Medical Center, Birnin Kebbi for its efficient service delivery to the people of the state.
He thanked the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health for providing the new infrastructural facilities at FMC, Birnin Kebbi.
He also assured that , the state government would continue to support FMC Birnin Kebbi to sustain the maintenance of the all-important project.
