By Hassan Zaggi
As parts of its efforts to improve the healthcare system and by extension improve the health status of Nigerians, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three Nigeiran Teaching Hospitals.
This is to flag-off the phase 2 of its muliti-billion naira Hospital Support Programme (NLNG HSP).
The benefitting Teaching Hospitals include University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, which will be supported by the equipping of its Haemodialysis Centre; the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo, will, on the other hand, benefit in the renovation and equipping of its accident and emergency unit and theatre.
On the other hand, the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos, will benefit in the area of the construction and equipping of a twin theatre suite.
Speaking at the MoUs signing ceremony with the medical directors of the benefiting hospitals in Abuja, NLNG’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, representing the Managing Director, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, disclosed that the Company’s vision of being a globally competitive LNG company, helping to build a better Nigeria has inspired the Company’s CSR intervention in the over 20 years of its operation.
He stated that Nigeria LNG would implement a third phase of the programme whilst hospital projects in earlier phases are being completed and commissioned.
According to him, the Company recognised that good healthcare was necessary for economic, human, and social development in Nigeria, stressing that NLNG has placed a premium on healthcare due to this recognition.
He reiterated that: “Nigeria faces several health challenges, including infectious diseases, maternal and child mortality, and non-communicable diseases.
“Poor health outcomes can severely affect economic growth, human development, and overall well-being. Access to quality healthcare can improve productivity, reduce mortality rates, improve educational outcomes and the quality of life, and increase life expectancy and social and economic status.
“Poor health outcomes disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including women, children, and the elderly. Access to quality healthcare can also help reduce health disparities and promote social equity.
“This, in turn, can help reduce poverty, promote gender equality, and promote social cohesion.
“Already, we have recorded successes in phase one commissioned projects at University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada. The commissioned maternity complex in UATH opened to the delivery of health care services and enrolment of antenatal patients in January 2023, when the first baby was born.
“Four maternal deliveries and three Caesarean sections have been recorded so far. Two babies have also been successfully nursed at the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).”
Speaking, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said that health care service delivery is a collective responsibility in which all stakeholders are expected to contribute their quota in order to make it accessible and affordable.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health, Alhaji Mahmuda Mamman, the Minister applauded NLNG for its resilience, dedication and continued support to the heath sector and the achievement of universal health coverage.
He, therefore, called on other organisations to partner with government as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives to fill the gaps in the sector.
The NLNG Hospital Support Programme (HSP) is NLNG’s national Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative which aims to boost the healthcare delivery system in 12 Federal University Teaching Hospitals cutting across all six geopolitical zones in the country. The programme started in 2022 with the signing and implementation of MoUs with the six hospitals in the first phase of the programme.
The Teaching Hospitals in Phase 1 include Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos; University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada; Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano; University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin; University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar; and Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Yenagoa.
Other projects in the first phase due for commissioning in 2023 include an Occupational Therapy and Neuromodulation Rehabilitation Centre at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), an Obstetrics & Gynaecology Ward at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and a Neurosurgical & Stroke Centre at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).
Other hospitals projects to be delivered in Phase 3 include the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBUTH) Bauchi; Federal Medical Centre, Asaba; and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi.
NLNG is also implementing the equipping of Renal Transplant Center at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) to support a robust healthcare system in Rivers State as part of its COVID-19 intervention programme.
