By: Ganiyu Olayinka
The Federal Government has begun distributing medical equipment, ambulances, essential medicines, and other healthcare supplies worth ₦10 billion to strengthen healthcare delivery in Bauchi State.
The distribution exercise, held on Saturday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, was officially flagged off by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, alongside officials of the Bauchi State Government and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Pate said the initiative forms part of the Federal Government’s broader effort to strengthen primary healthcare services nationwide under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. He explained that similar interventions have been carried out in 35 states, spanning investments in health infrastructure, medical equipment, essential medicines, workforce development and emergency medical services. He added that government-supported health programmes are now providing services to more than 45 million Nigerians every quarter.
Pate said Bauchi has benefited significantly from federal health investments, citing the upgrade of the Federal Teaching Hospital in Azare, the establishment of the National North-East Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre in Ningi, the creation of a Federal Medical Centre, and the ongoing expansion of ATBUTH, including a new radiology and diagnostic centre. He said more than 100 primary healthcare centres across the state have been renovated or upgraded through the federal-state partnership, and that thousands of frontline health workers have received specialised training, while more than 3,000 youths from Bauchi have secured employment in federal health institutions nationwide.
Providing further detail, Pate said 20 primary healthcare centres would receive medical equipment, while another 20 facilities would be supplied with essential drugs and medical consumables across local government areas in the state. The items include labour and delivery kits, suction machines, oxygen equipment, blood pressure monitors, surgical theatre equipment, neonatal intensive care equipment and laboratory facilities to support maternal and child healthcare. The intervention also comprises 15 rural ambulances, six standard ambulances, and 17,000 maternity kits for pregnant women, aimed at promoting safe delivery and easing the financial burden of maternal healthcare.
Pate put the total value of the intervention including equipment, ambulances, drugs and consumables at approximately ₦10 billion. He warned against the diversion or misuse of the supplies, stressing that all distributed items had been documented and that anyone found misappropriating them would face prosecution. He also urged political leaders and stakeholders to prioritise development and work together to improve the wellbeing of Nigerians.
Speaking on behalf of the Bauchi State Government, Deputy Governor Muhammad Awwal Jatau, representing Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, commended the Federal Government for the intervention. He said the state government has continued to prioritise the health sector through the rehabilitation and upgrading of hospitals and primary healthcare centres, the recruitment of additional health workers particularly for rural communities and sustained investment in nutrition programmes to tackle severe acute malnutrition among children and pregnant women. Jatau reaffirmed the state’s commitment to working with the Federal Government and development partners to strengthen healthcare delivery.
Receiving the equipment on behalf of beneficiary institutions, the Chief Medical Director of ATBUTH, Prof. Bara Yusuf Jibrin, assured that the supplies would be fairly distributed to all designated facilities and used responsibly, and reaffirmed the commitment of federal health institutions to proper maintenance and effective utilisation of the equipment to enhance healthcare services, support research and strengthen health system resilience.
Tags: #FGN #ATBUTH #Ali Pate