NWDC TO PARTNER DALA ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL KANO TO REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS
The North-West Development Commission is partnering with Dala Orthopaedic Hospital Kano to explore ways of making quality healthcare more affordable for patients in the country.
The Managing Director of the Commission, Professor Shehu Ma’aji, disclosed this recently in Kano when he hosted the Chief Medical Director of Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Isa Nurudeen.
In a statement signed by Abdulrashid Safana, Head, Press and Public Relations, NWDC,
Professor Abdullahi stated that as an intervention agency, the Commission would carry out a needs assessment of the hospital’s operational requirements, with particular focus on the energy component required to power the hospital’s sophisticated equipment.
According to him, based on the assessment, the Commission would develop a partnership framework to support the hospital and minimise the burden of running and maintenance costs.
He expressed optimism that with the Commission’s intervention to subsidise operational costs, the gesture would automatically translate to a reduction in service charges for patients.
Professor Abdullahi further disclosed the Commission’s readiness to extend similar support to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH; Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, ABUTH Shika, Zaria; and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, UDUTH, Sokoto.
He observed that the three tertiary hospitals, all situated within the North-West region, “offer services to people from all walks of life” and should therefore be supported to enhance the quality of service delivery and make healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Professor Abdullahi added that the training of technical personnel on equipment operation and maintenance would be another component of the partnership. This, he said, is to ensure that operational and maintenance challenges are tackled immediately without waiting for manufacturers to intervene.
He expressed the belief that when these healthcare facilities function optimally, it would reduce the frequency of Nigerians travelling overseas for medical treatment and in turn boost the Nigerian economy.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Medical Director of Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Isa Nurudeen, said the purpose of the visit was to solicit the support and assistance of the Commission to address some of the operational challenges facing the hospital.
He specifically highlighted the energy needs to power the hospital’s equipment, particularly the new sophisticated MRI machine recently donated by NNPC Ltd.
Dr. Nurudeen explained that for the MRI machine to operate optimally, it needs to run 24 hours continuously on electricity, which is costly and beyond what the hospital management can afford given the high cost of electricity from the national grid and the prohibitive cost of diesel.
He therefore appealed to the Commission to assist in providing a sustainable alternative source of energy to power the equipment.
The North-West Development Commission was established in 2024 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to, among others, accelerate infrastructure development and address long-standing developmental gaps across the region.
Its core mandate areas include security, agriculture, health, education, environment, and women and youth development.
