Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno state Tuesday directed the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Salihu Kwaya Bura, to make submission detailing specialised training that would be required for the operation of high-tech medical equipment to 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.”
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.
The governor in July, 2020, constituted a 13-member multi-stakeholder committee, chaired by former chief medical director of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Professor 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 realisation of establishing Borno state College of Medicine and Borno state University Teaching Hospital, including appropriate timelines for the commencement of the two projects,” Zulum said.
The governor also hosted a team of five officials from General Electric International (GEI) over issues of maintaining some diagnostic equipment, including a CT scan, supplied and installed by GE at the state’s specialist hospital, Maiduguri.
GE’s team was led by the Executive Director for Government Affairs and Policy in West Africa, Joyce C. Shyngle-Wigwe. Governor Zulum had in his team, Borno state Commissioner of Health, Dr. Aliyu Salihu Kwaya Bura, and some government officials. The meeting was held at Borno’s Liaison Office, Abuja.
The meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes discussed some aspects of maintenance in a contract entered into between Borno government and GE back in 2016, which led to installation of sophisticated diagnostic equipment that was completed in February 2019.
