From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Federal Government has been advised on timely release of funds allocated to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, Zaria in the 2023 budget, to enable completion of ongoing projects that will enhance healthcare delivery in the Hospital.
Equity Alliance, a non-governmental organization made the call at a press conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, saying that, the Teaching Hospital as the major tertiary health institution and referral centre in Kaduna State, needed to be in its utmost shape to cater for healthcare of the people of Kaduna and the neighboring states.
The group’s National Chairman, Hon Magaji A. Baba while addressing the journalists noted that the hospital management had in the recent past installed some state of the art equipment, which have the capacity to reduce medical tourism.
According to Baba, “we want to commend the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of ABUTH for the installation of state of the art equipments in the Hospital. We are commending the Hospital management because this development will reduce medical tourism and meet the health needs of the people of Kaduna State and neighboring states.
“In particularly the MRI machine recently installed in the hospital is first of its kind in Northern hospitals and there are so many ongoing projects which the hospital is witnessing which are in different levels of completions.
“It is against this background, and to further improve the standard of the major tertiary health institution in Kaduna State and Northern Nigeria that, Equity Alliance is using this medium to urge the current Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning to release funds meant for the hospital on time especially in 2023 appropriation,” it said.
While commending the CMD for the recent smooth recruitment in hospital where it said the three local government areas which happen to be the catchment area of the Teaching Hospital benefited from, the group called on the Secretary to the Government of Federation to give the Hospital management a nod to carry out another recruitment in 2023, so that it would be adequately staffed.
“We commend the CMD and the entire management for the smooth recruitment in ABUTH, where the three local government areas which are the catchment area of the Hospital benefited from. This is unlike the previous recruitment, where the local government ares including Zaria, Sabon Gari and Giwa did not not benefit.
“We therefore urge the Head of Service of the Federation and the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to give the the management of the hospital the go ahead do another recruitment in 2023, so that the Hospital will have adequate staff to run the hospital and the patients will have proper attention from the health personnel,” he said.
