Health

The Burns Centre: Professor Ahidjo’s Management Crusade At UMTH

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2023

News Net Global

The Burns Centre: Professor Ahidjo’s Management Crusade At UMTH

By: Balami Lazarus

Recently, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital has been the subject of a great deal of positive commentary. These reports on medical facilities, services, and administration have enhanced the delivery of healthcare to the people of Borno state and Nigeria as a whole. However, everything claimed was true.

While the media has never highlighted the core of her medical development and advancement, NEWSng has dedicated itself to the story over the past few months and started to tell it in-depth, giving the true position from its interactions with staff, management interviews, patients, and from observation of what is happening on the ground to bring these positive lights on UMTH- the largest so far in Nigeria.

The leadership and management team of Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, the CMD, has brought this great institutional hospital to the next level of international standard in line with her objectives. These include the provision of medical facilities, capital projects, staff welfare, and labor relations.

There are just a few Burns Centers throughout the entire nation, and Yola and Maiduguri are the only two in the northeast. North East Development Commission (NEDC) constructed the UMTH Burns Center as part of its duties. The Burns Treatment Center has been in operation since it was commissioned in April 2022.

The Burns Centre At UMTH

This became possible following the story that the health industry has been one of Borno’s worst-hit industries throughout the more than 13-year Boko Haram conflict. The terrorists believed that by attacking government buildings, the people of the state and the administration would be forced to face the brunt of their campaign. As a result, health centers in Borno state and northeast Nigeria became targets. In Borno state in parts of the local government areas, hospitals and health centres were damaged, vandalized, or set on fire.

The few health centers and facilities that were serving the populace became overburdened as a result of the attacks in the majority of local government districts, which prompted inhabitants to migrate to Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State. This led to difficulties in the health sector.

Because of the overcrowding in the different internally displaced persons camps, which housed people who had been uprooted by the insurgency, infections were more likely to spread there. However, the difficulties in the health sector were reduced with the arrival of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and its interventions in the various health centers in Maiduguri and environs, particularly the partnership with the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), which gave birth to the much talk about Burns Centre.

The opening of the Burns Center was a much-welcomed development and a milestone that has maintained the UMTH’s prominence. It is vital to construct this Center because of the unique environment in Borno state. the unrest that engulfed the state during the height of the insurgency, when killings and destructions resulted in fatalities, injuries, and fires.

Burn patients lack a specialized unit or center in hospitals in the northeast to care for them since at the height of the insurrection there was no hope in sight for those suffering from burns. Only the accomplishments noted during Ahidjo’s led medical administration may reveal the concept of the management team to cooperate for growth with the Northeast Commission.

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One of the centers that some guests and hospital partners are unaware of is the UMTH Burns Center.”Except for the Kidney Center, Cancer Center, and Trauma Center, which I am all aware of, I have never heard of the Burns Center. But not for Burns Center. According to a report, a hospital visitor remarked this in response to the present situation there.

The Center’s head, Professor Chubado Tahir, a burns specialist and consultant, told NEWSng that it focuses on various burns treatments. Burns may be caused by fire, heat, or radiation, Professor Tahir continued. All of these are taken care of and treated in this Center. For the treatment and care of burns, we have all the required tools and supplies. My crew is skilled and trained in treating burns. Added Prof. Chubado.

He claimed that as burns are a delicate harm to the body in part or whole, the burns center is comparable to an intensive care unit. Burns come in two varieties: small burns and serious burns. Additional classifications include first-, second-, and third-degree burns. He clarified.

When NEWSng took a tour of the Center, nurse Aisha Umar Ngohi, a Metron, was there. Metron Ngohi stated that the hospital’s Burns Center is a good addition since “it has significantly lowered the rate of deaths from burn injuries.” You will receive the best treatment and attention at our infection-free facility. Additionally, it functions as an intensive care unit where recovery is handled with great care. Our wards are strictly reserved for patients exclusively. The open wards you often find in hospitals are not like this one.

The Burns Centre At UMTH

Burns have long been an ailment that needed skilled treatment, while others required surgical grafts. The Burns Center “came at the right time for the people of Borno state, considering the nature of our present environment where you find people with severe burns injuries as a result of the happenings in the northeast,” said Dr. Kefas Mbaya, a consultant of Plastic and Burns Surgery.

“In this sense, the Center has been achieving its main goals of providing patients with burn treatments and procedures. The Center has also advanced burn research and understanding through training medical students and researchers in the field.

The inability of some patients to pay for their medical costs is one of the difficulties this center has to deal with. The majority of our patients struggle to pay for their therapies. Treatments, care, and medicines for burns are necessary. Burn treatment medications are pricey. Therefore, we must account for our costs for consumables like oxygen, bandages, and cotton, among others. He spoke.

Another difficulty that NEWSng was forced to comprehend was the requirement for ventilation holes to be guarded from insects that can injure patients in wards. The Burns Center is one of several medical centers housed at the UMTH.

The Burns Centre: Professor Ahidjo’s Management Crusade At UMTH

Health

Korean Film Festival Returns to Nigeria After COVID-19 Break

Published

2 months ago

September 22, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Korean Film Festival Returns to Nigeria After COVID-19 Break

By: Michael Mike

The Korean Embassy in Nigeria has commenced the Korean Film Festival in Nigeria after it went on break during the CIVID-19 pandemic.

The latest edition is the 12th Edition of the festival and was hosted at the Silverbird Cinema, in Abuja between 19th September to 21st September 2024 with several movies screened.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Korean ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Pankyu, expressed delight with the return of the festival after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

He said: “I have come to deeply feel that South Korea and Nigeria share a strong cultural affinity, especially in their love for music and dance.

“Due to this cultural affinity, various elements, such as fashion and cuisine, along with music, are resonating in Nigeria.

“Particularly, there has been a significant surge in the spread of dramas and films.”

He added that: “Along with the global hit ‘Squid Game’ in 2021, the most-watched drama series on Netflix Nigeria in 2022 was ‘Alchemy of souls’.

“Thus, I have come to realise the importance of introducing Korean films to Nigeria, one of the world’s top 3 film-producing countries.”

Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr Obi Asika, said millions of Nigerians had fallen in love with K-pop [Korean music] and K-drama [Korean drama].

He said Nigeria would continue to learn from the Koreans to improve its entertainment industry.

Korean Film Festival Returns to Nigeria After COVID-19 Break

Health

New UNAIDS Report that Debt Crisis Has Left Health Chronically Underfunded in Africa

Published

2 months ago

September 19, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

New UNAIDS Report that Debt Crisis Has Left Health Chronically Underfunded in Africa

By: Michael Mike

Growing public debt is choking sub-Saharan African countries, leaving them with little fiscal room to finance health and critical HIV services, a new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).

The report said domestic revenues, debt relief and development aid: Transformative pathways for ending AIDS by 2030 Eastern and Southern Africa/ Western and Central Africa, shows that the debt crisis is putting in jeopardy progress made towards ending AIDS.

It added that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the largest number of people living with HIV, with more than 25.9 million people of the 39.9 million living with HIV globally. The region’s success in having reduced new HIV infections by 56% since 2010 will not be sustained if fiscal space is constrained.

The report, released ahead of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, showed that the combination of growing public debt payments and spending cuts set out in International Monetary Fund agreements in the next three to five years will, if unaddressed, leave countries dangerously under resourced to fund their HIV responses.

The UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said: “When countries cannot effectively look after the health care needs of their people because of debt payments, global health security is put at risk,” adding that: “Public debt needs to be urgently reduced and domestic resource mobilization strengthened to enable the fiscal space to fully fund the global HIV response and end AIDS.”

The report said debt servicing now exceeds 50% of government revenues in Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, adding that even after debt relief measures, Zambia will still be paying two-thirds of its budget on debt servicing between 2024 and 2026.

It said there has been a noted decline in HIV response spending since 2017 in Western and Central Africa, from 0.3% of GDP in 2017 to just 0.12% in 2022.

It said Western and Central Africa will need to mobilize US$ 4.18 billion to fully fund the HIV response in 2024. This will climb to US$ 7.9 billion by 2030 unless efforts are scaled up today to stop new HIV infections.

While US$ 20.8 billion was available for the HIV response in 2022 in low and middle-income countries through both domestic and international sources, this funding was not enough to sufficiently finance the HIV response. Western and Central Africa for example had a funding shortfall of 32% in 2022.

In 2024 alone, Eastern and Southern Africa will need to mobilize almost US$ 12 billion to fully fund the HIV response. This amount will climb to around US$ 17 billion by 2030 unless new HIV infections are reduced.

It said to enable increased domestic resource mobilization for countries to respond effectively to their pandemics, sub-Saharan African countries will need to strengthen their tax systems, including closing tax exemptions which currently cost countries an average of 2.6% of GDP in lost revenue across the region. Donors need also to scale up financial assistance for health and the HIV response between now and 2030, while creditors should offer debt relief to heavily indebted countries to ease the burden.

Byanyima said: “World leaders cannot let a resource crunch derail global progress to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.”

New UNAIDS Report that Debt Crisis Has Left Health Chronically Underfunded in Africa

Health

Flood in UMTH: Professor Ahidjo’s demonstrated leadership in emergencies

Published

2 months ago

September 13, 2024

News Net Global

Flood in UMTH: Professor Ahidjo's demonstrated leadership in emergencies

Flood in UMTH: Professor Ahidjo’s demonstrated leadership in emergencies

By Dr. James Bwala

The flooding in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in northern Nigeria, has presented serious issues for the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). The administration of the hospital has been putting a lot of effort into determining the extent of the impact as they prepare to put in place a comprehensive strategy to deal with these environmental issues and guarantee that medical care is provided as usual.

UMTH considers improving its infrastructure resilience to be one of its main tactics. In order to lessen water accumulation during future heavy rains, the hospital intends to improve the drainage systems surrounding its property. It also intends to participate in community outreach programs that educate locals about flood risks and promote preventive measures like proper waste disposal and land management techniques that can lessen the effects of flooding. Furthermore, UMTH has improved its alliances with both governmental and non-governmental groups in order to streamline the mobilization of resources in times of crisis.

Speaking on the destruction caused by the flood at UMTH, the CMD stated that flooding presents serious problems for communities all around the world and calls for efficient response systems. The Chief Medical Director (CMD) has started a number of programs to lessen the negative effects of floods and prevent them from happening again. He claims that the hospital works to lessen vulnerability and increase resilience in affected populations and patients by implementing comprehensive flood control policies and strategic planning.

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The creation of early warning systems that enable prompt alerts for approaching floods is one of the CMD’s planned initiatives. By utilizing cutting-edge meteorological data and predictive analytics, these devices will help UMTH communities get ready for any future flooding. Additionally, public awareness campaigns have been crucial in informing the public about the dangers of flooding and in supporting preventative measures like emergency evacuation plans, which the hospital intends to utilize going forward. These programs are made more effective by including community input, which guarantees that decision-making processes are informed by local expertise.

Two crises were brought about by the flooding: the immediate risk to patient safety and the interruption of medical services. In response, UMTH took extensive steps to protect its patients’ wellbeing while guaranteeing the continuity of their care. These actions included creating emergency procedures. Also, a plan for the allocation of funds for flood control and working with the government to enable prompt responses may be understood in the efforts to assess the level of disruption by the flood.

The mobilization of medical staff to obtain vital medical supplies and support patients in evacuation attempts was a crucial component of UMTH’s reaction. Employees put in a great deal of effort to move patients who were at risk from impacted locations on the hospital grounds, giving priority to those who needed intensive care or had chronic illnesses. In addition, patients were accommodated in makeshift shelters that were established upstairs at the hospital.

Significant worries about patient safety and the operational integrity of medical equipment have been raised by the water occurrences at the cancer centers and radiology departments. The Chief Medical Director, or CMD, has stated that quick evaluations are essential to determine the level of harm done to these devices, especially considering how important they are to treatment plans and diagnostic imaging. Flooding can affect these sophisticated instruments’ calibration as well as performance, which might result in inaccurate readings or inefficient therapy delivery. Therefore, it is essential that a thorough assessment be carried out prior to any device being approved for usage.

Professor Ahmed Ahidjo

The CMD also stresses the need for thorough backup planning and routine maintenance to reduce the likelihood of similar events in the future. This entails making investments in waterproofing techniques for crucial sections of healthcare facilities to guarantee that equipment can tolerate unforeseen environmental difficulties. The current state of affairs emphasizes the necessity of proactive risk management techniques and serves as a reminder of the vulnerabilities present in the healthcare system.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) made admirable efforts to guarantee that patient care remained a top priority in the face of these challenges. These preventative actions included arranging for the deployment of resources, improving staff coordination, and putting emergency protocols in place to handle the flood of patients impacted by the catastrophe. In times of crisis, the response from patients and their families demonstrates a complex interaction between heightened expectations and thankfulness.

The majority of patient relations’ responses to these initiatives were favorable. Numerous people conveyed gratitude for the CMD’s leadership amid a turbulent moment, emphasizing how prompt actions reduced possible health risks related to flooding. The construction of makeshift hospitals in safer locales demonstrated compassion for patients in times of emergency and built a rapport between medical staff and patients. Since it strengthens the therapeutic connection at the heart of efficient healthcare delivery, this trust is crucial.

Indeed, the flooding has had a substantial impact on the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), exacerbating pre-existing issues within the healthcare system. Thousands of patients depend on the hospital, a major healthcare facility in northeastern Nigeria, for both routine and emergency care, making it an indispensable resource. There is an urgent need for more governmental and non-governmental help in light of the flood issues currently facing the region in order to guarantee that UMTH can carry on offering vital medical services to the community, Nigeria, and all of west Africa.

Dr. James Bwala, PhD, writes from Abuja.

Flood in UMTH: Professor Ahidjo’s demonstrated leadership in emergencies