…Commissions purpose-built infectious disease centre in FCT
By Dwelleth Morountodun
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Friday said the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call to the country’s health sector, even as he said the country is living up to the challenges.
He made the disclosure while commissioning the Infectious Disease Centre at the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
At the handing over ceremony, he said the event marked a significant step towards strengthening the nation’s capacity to manage infectious diseases while responding to outbreaks in the country.
The Minister, said: “This project commenced over a year ago, as part of the commitment of the federal government to provide the necessary infrastructure and resources for infectious disease management, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).”
When the COVID-19 pandemic began at the beginning of this year, this centre was about half completed, he added.
He said: “I am very proud that today, we now have an international standard centre where we can manage highly pathogenic infectious disease cases, including critical medical and laboratory equipment.
“The University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada was one of the first centres that took on the challenge of managing COVID-19 cases in Nigeria and since then has been on the forefront on the response.
“I want to expressly commend all the health workers who have sustained the response over the past 8 months, you are true heroes.”
The establishment of this purpose-built infectious disease treatment centre will go a long way towards improving our capacity to respond to all infectious diseases, he added.
According to him, the ministry is also working with other states to establish purpose-built treatment centres that will ensure we are better prepared for infectious disease outbreaks, adding: ‘Our goal is to have at least one standard centre like this every state.”
He said the ministry is proud of this milestone achievement in the Federal Capital Territory and commends the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the management of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), and every institution involved in the successful completion of this project.
He said: “We shall ensure that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, as an agency of the ministry of Health, has the resources to adequately prevent, detect and respond to diseases of public health importance.
“COVID-19 has been a wakeup call for the health sector and we are living up to the challenge.
“However, we shall continue to sustain routine services in order to maintain the gains in health indices we have made so far.”
I have therefore directed that this centre be put to immediate use so that the space currently being utilised for COVID-19 isolation and treatment, can be used for the purpose it was built, he said.
The. Minister said he was excited also to commission the two other facilities in the hospital, adding the Accident and Emergency Unit which is a 32-bed Unit with an intensive care unit (ICU), radiology suite, dialysis unit, fully equipped dedicated operating theatre and oxygen supply; and the Cardiology Unit with a full complement of facilities for non-invasive procedures including a state-of-the-art 4D echocardiograph.
“I will also lay the foundation stone for the Mental Health Block , a 76-bed block which, when completed, will have facilities for specialised therapies; an emergency area; consulting, psychotherapy and seminar rooms; and a pharmacy.” Ehanire added.