Borno To Boost Specialised Training Of Medical Workers

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, of Borno State on Tuesday, directed the state’s commissioner for health, Dr Salihu Kwayabura, to make submission detailing specialized training that would be required for the operations of high-tech medical equipment that will be installed when a teaching hospital is established to enable the take-off of college of medical sciences at the Borno state University.

Zulum, who directed the commissioner to make his submission through a committee already in place to facilitate the start of the teaching hospital, said now is the right time to send academics for masters degrees and PhDs so that by the time they are done with their programmes, the teaching hospital will be ready for them to be part of.

The governor noted that the National Universities Commission, NUC, will only grant accreditation for Borno state University to start degrees in medicine and surgery through a college of medicine, when the teaching hospital is not just in place but also has trained academics readily available.

Zulum had in July, 2020, constituted a 13-member multi-stakeholder committee, chaired by former chief medical director of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Prof Othman Kyari, to among other things, “examine and advice on the feasibility of establishing Borno state College of Medicine and Borno state University Teaching Hospital, to produce blueprint for the speedy realization of establishing Borno state College of medicine and Borno state University Teaching Hospital, including appropriate timelines for the commencement of the two projects” and “provide all relevant technical documents, including appropriate design and likely cost implications for the two projects, and advice on the best strategies of getting qualified academic staff for all the department in the Borno state College of Medicine”.

Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum on Tuesday hosted a team of five officials from General Electric International over issues of maintaining some diagnostic equipment, including a CT scan, supplied and installed by GE at the state’s specialist hospital in Maiduguri.

GE’s team was led by Joyce C. Shyngle-Wigwe, executive director for government affairs and policy in West Africa, while Zulum had in his team, commissioner of health, Dr Salihu Kwayabura and some government officials at the meeting, which held at Borno’s liaison office in Abuja.

The meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes discussed some aspects of maintenance in a contract entered between Borno government and GE back in 2016, which led to installation of sophisticated diagnostic equipment, completed in February 2019.

The meeting resolved outstanding issues that aim to strengthen the use of CT scans for diagnosis of patients at Borno’s specialist hospital.

GE also gave the governor an update on an MoU reached with northern governors in previous years, for generation of electricity through solar technology, to power Maiduguri water plant and some public installations.

Governor Zulum requested for documents supporting GE’s update, while promising a thorough review of the submission, to determine government’s next line of action.

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By Aisha Hameed