Vice President Kashim Shettima commissioned the Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital in Maiduguri on Oct. 23, as Borno State presented the 400-bed facility as a way to expand specialist care and medical training.
Borno says the hospital has 13 specialist departments and is intended to bring specialist care closer to residents. The state says the facility will also provide clinical training for students and health professionals at Kashim Ibrahim University.
The equipment listed by Borno includes a 1.5-tesla MRI scanner, a 160-slice CT scanner, three conventional and two mobile X-ray machines, three 4D ultrasound machines, fluoroscopy and digital mammography. The complex also has an oxygen plant, a medical college complex, a student hostel and a 200-unit staff estate, according to the state.
The opening follows years of damage to health services in the state. A 2016 review by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Borno’s Ministry of Health counted 743 facilities. It recorded complete destruction at 35% of them and partial damage at another 29%. Among the 481 facilities not completely destroyed, 31% were not operating, with insecurity cited as the main reason. The review also documented shortages of health workers, medicines and equipment.
Borno Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum said the state had recruited health professionals and would continue hiring. He said Borno would provide the hospital with equipment and utilities as it develops its clinical training role.
Shettima said traveling outside Borno for treatment can add cost and anxiety for families.
