WHO, FCDO Donate Vehicles, Generators To Enugu Nursing Schools

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), on Monday, donated vehicles and assorted equipment to Enugu State Colleges of Nursing, Park Lane, Enugu, and Awgu, to boost their academic activities.

THE WHISTLER reports that the items include two 15-seater Toyota Hiace commuter buses, two Mikano diesel generators, 145 desktop computers, five suction machines, eight sets of 3D electronic boards, 13 Sharp three-in-one photocopiers, and numerous laboratory, training, nursing, and hostel equipment and accessories.

The WHO Country Director and Head of Mission, Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu, said the donations followed a need assessment conducted on Enugu State College of Nursing, Park Lane Campus, and Enugu State College of Nursing, Awgu Campus by WHO.

According to him, the assessment was carried out in collaboration with the Enugu State government, as part of the Equipment Support for Health Training Institutions (ESHTI) initiative of WHO.

Ursu commended the state government for its various interventions in the health sector.

Quoting him, “WHO commends the state government for the strategic investment in health system strengthening. Enugu State has made remarkable investments in health infrastructure expansion and primary healthcare revitalization.”

He mentioned such interventions to include the construction of 260 Type 2 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across all the state’s political wards, solarisation of health facilities, and the ongoing construction of the quaternary Enugu International Hospital.

He also cited the digitisation of PHC and secondary health facilities, equipping of over 360 health facilities with tablets, internet, and Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, and the institutionalization of real-time data dashboards for clinical and operational monitoring in the state.

“These efforts are expected to reduce patient wait times, improve quality of care, and enable evidence-based decision-making,” Dr Ursu stated.

He also commended Gov Peter Mbah for his investment in human resources for health through the approval of the recruitment of 2,200 health workers across all cadres, with 450 already onboarded, as well as for the administration’s support to health training institutions through accreditations and integration of the schools into the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) portal, among others.

FCDO Nigeria Health Advisor and representative at the ceremony, Dr Ebere Anyachukwu, praised Gov Mbah’s efforts in transforming the state’s health system.

Quoting her, “We have been a key supporter, and we have also been observing the efforts that Enugu State has been making to transform health under your leadership. That is why we are proud to have partnered with Enugu State and the World Health Organization to provide this support. We hope that this will strengthen your efforts to improve the quantity, quality, and effectiveness of the health workforce in Enugu State.”

In his speech, Governor Mbah said the donations would help in realising his administration’s vision to eradicate poverty and grow the state’s economy sevenfold.

He stated that, “We know that all that will be contingent on the well-being of our people, and as they say, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. You have done all the gap analysis and identified where it hurts us most. And it is quite auspicious because it is also happening at a time when we have been targeting to train at least 3,000 healthcare professionals annually here in Enugu State. These tools will strengthen these training institutions and also improve our standards.”

He assured that his government would construct more hostels and classrooms in the various campuses of Enugu State College of Nursing, including the one in Oji River.

He added that the government was completing two new six-floor blocks at Enugu State University Teaching Hospital to provide world-class healthcare to the people of the state.

In his remark, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Matters, Dr Yomi Jaye, described the donations as “an endorsement of the transformation of the state’s nursing training institutions, which the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria had almost written off before the coming of the Mbah administration”.