Health

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

Published

3 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

Health Worker Exodus Deepens as Policy Brief Warns of Systemic Risk to Nigeria’s Healthcare Sector

Published

4 days ago

January 8, 2026

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Health Worker Exodus Deepens as Policy Brief Warns of Systemic Risk to Nigeria’s Healthcare Sector

By: Michael Mike

A new policy brief has warned that unless urgent welfare-focused reforms are implemented, the country risks a deepening crisis that could undermine access to quality healthcare nationwide.

Nigeria’s healthcare system is facing mounting pressure as the steady departure of doctors and nurses continues to erode service capacity, raising concerns about long-term system viability.

According to the policy analysis authored by health policy expert Dr Emmanuel Ejimonu, of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, more than 42,000 nurses left Nigeria between 2021 and early 2024, while thousands of Nigerian-trained doctors have registered to practise abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom. The trend shows no sign of slowing, as survey data cited in the report indicate that nearly three-quarters of medical and nursing students intend to seek employment overseas, with about one in three expressing no plans to return.

The report attributed the exodus largely to domestic welfare and governance challenges rather than professional ambition. Health workers interviewed consistently pointed to low and irregular salaries, unsafe and overstretched working environments, limited opportunities for funded specialist training and weak social protection systems. These challenges, the brief notes, have made emigration a rational choice in the face of institutional uncertainty, especially as global demand for health professionals continues to rise.

Although the Federal Government introduced a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration in 2023 to promote ethical recruitment and retention, the brief argues that its impact has been limited. Implementation gaps, inadequate funding and uneven execution at state and facility levels have prevented the policy from delivering meaningful improvements in working conditions.

The consequences of sustained health worker losses are already visible. Teaching hospitals are reportedly struggling to maintain specialist training and mentorship programmes, while recurring strikes highlight growing mistrust between health workers and government authorities. Economically, the country is losing returns on public investments in training, even as staff shortages compromise care delivery in both urban and rural facilities. Remaining workers also face rising burnout, further fuelling migration intentions.

Drawing on international experiences from countries such as Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines and Cuba, the policy brief stresses that health worker migration cannot be completely stopped. Instead, it recommends managing mobility through welfare-based retention strategies and credible governance structures.

Central to the recommendations is a proposed Welfare-First Retention Package, which prioritises guaranteed and timely payment of salaries, improved workplace safety, funded career progression, fair bonding arrangements and strengthened social protection. The package also calls for disciplined use of bilateral agreements and ethical recruitment frameworks to protect Nigeria’s investment in health worker training.

The brief estimates that, if properly funded and implemented, the proposed measures could reduce short-term health worker attrition by up to one-third within two years, while significantly improving retention over a five-year period.

The report stated that reversing the health workforce crisis will require treating welfare reform as a core economic and governance priority, backed by political will, fiscal discipline and strong institutional coordination. Without such action, the report warns, Nigeria risks the gradual hollowing out of its healthcare system, with far-reaching consequences for public health and national development.

Health Worker Exodus Deepens as Policy Brief Warns of Systemic Risk to Nigeria’s Healthcare Sector

Health

Yobe to establish dialysis center in Gashua

Published

2 months ago

November 9, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Yobe to establish dialysis center in Gashua

By: Yahaya Wakili

Pending the recommendations of the research being conducted by Bio-RTC in addressing the problem of Chronic Kidney failure in the state. The Yobe state government will establish additional succor to kidney patients with a Renal Dialysis Center in Gashua, the headquarters of the Bade local government area.

Yobe State Governor Hon. Dr. Mai Mala Buni CON, COMN, disclosed this in his 2026 budget proposal speech of #515.583 billion submitted to the Yobe State House of Assembly in Damaturu.

Governor Buni said the government will also construct a new general hospital in Potiskum to address the problem of overcrowding of patients at the specialist hospital.

According to him, the government will also intend to complete the rehabilitation and upgrade of the 36 remaining primary health care centers across the state in fulfillment of our campaign promise to provide one functional primary healthcare center in each of the 178 political wards.

He further said in the fiscal year, the government will embark on the provision of at least one model primary school in each of the 178 electoral wards in the state to improve basic education in the state.

He maintained that the modern markets in Geidam, Buni Yadi, Ngalda, Yunusari, and Machina will be completed and commissioned, adding that these markets will not only improve the commercial activities in the state but will further provide job opportunities to our teeming youths and increase the income of our people.

Governor Buni revealed that funds would be made available for the provision of power substations in 6 major towns of the state. In addition to the provision of solar-powered streetlights, 250 KVA, 500 KVA, and 800 KVA diesel soundproof generator sets would be distributed to government agencies across the state.

Yobe to establish dialysis center in Gashua

Health

UMTH: Another Cap for the Chief Medical Director: Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo’s Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer Award

Published

3 months ago

October 14, 2025

News Net Global

UMTH: Another Cap for the Chief Medical Director: Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo’s Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer Award

UMTH: Another Cap for the Chief Medical Director: Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo’s Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer Award

By: Dr. James Bwala

The evening of October 10th, 2025, marked a significant milestone in the annals of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), for emerging as the Best Federal Health Institution in ICT Integration. Also the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, was honored with the title of Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer. This recognition, conferred by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms at a grand ceremony held in the Presidential Villa in Abuja, is a testament to his unwavering commitment to healthcare innovations and exemplary leadership within the public sector. Such an award, unprecedented in its scope and depth, underscores not only his personal achievements but also reflects the collective progress of UMTH under his stewardship.

As guests filled the ornate hall of the Presidential Villa, anticipation buzzed in the air. The decor, infused with symbols of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, echoed the significance of the event. Among those present were notable figures from various sectors, including former board chairman at UMTH, Hadi Ukashatu Gumel; CMAC Prof. Modu Baba Kagu; DCMAC Clinicals Prof. Buba Faruq; PA to the CMD Dahiru Hammawa; Head of ICT Ismail Hashim; Engr. Maaji Shettima; and Mr. Peter, representative of Health in the Box. Their presence highlighted the collaborative efforts that characterize Prof. Ahidjo’s leadership style—a leadership that emphasizes teamwork, accountability, and innovation.

Prof. Ahidjo’s journey to this prestigious award is marked by a robust track record that distinguishes him as a goal getter. Since assuming the role of CMD at UMTH, he has championed numerous initiatives aimed at transforming the hospital into a beacon of excellence in healthcare delivery. His foresight in integrating technology into the healthcare process has not only streamlined operations but also improved patient outcomes significantly. Under his guidance, UMTH has embraced digital transformation, facilitating telemedicine services, electronic health records, and comprehensive data management systems—all pivotal in the ongoing evolution of healthcare in Nigeria.

The Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer award acknowledges those who have made substantial contributions to government technology advancements and public service reforms. Prof. Ahidjo’s tenure exemplifies this principle, as he led initiatives that have enhanced the efficiency of healthcare services across the region. For instance, his collaboration with local tech firms to develop the Health in the Box initiative embodies innovative solutions to pressing healthcare challenges. This program leverages technology to provide remote health services, bridging the gap between urban healthcare facilities and rural communities, thereby ensuring equitable access to essential medical resources.

The award ceremony itself was a reflection of commendable partnerships forged between government institutions and private entities, designed to uplift public service through technological advancements. As Prof. Ahidjo, represented by the former chairman of the board, ascended the stage to accept the award, there was a palpable sense of pride among attendees, particularly those from UMTH who had witnessed firsthand the relentless efforts of their chief medical director.

In his acceptance speech, Prof. Ahidjo expressed gratitude not only for the recognition but also for the collective effort of his team. He acknowledged the invaluable contributions of the hospital staff, whom he described as the backbone of UMTH’s successes. His emphasis on teamwork resonated throughout the audience, reaffirming the notion that individual accolades are often the results of cooperative endeavors. He further dedicated the award to his colleagues, emphasizing that the honor is reflective of the strides made by the entire institution.

The presence of key figures like DCMAC Clinicals Prof. Buba Faruq and Head of ICT Ismail Hashim underscored the breadth of support for Prof. Ahidjo’s vision. They encapsulated the sentiment that the award serves not just as recognition for past accomplishments but as a call to action for continued innovation and excellence in the face of ever-evolving healthcare challenges.

The event showcased a tapestry of emotions—pride, enthusiasm, and an invigorated sense of purpose. Attendees were treated to a series of presentations highlighting UMTH’s recent advancements, notably the implementation of smart technology in patient management and the establishment of a state-of-the-art emergency response center. These developments were evidence of how visionary leadership can steer a traditional healthcare system toward modernization.

Furthermore, the award also sparked discussions among stakeholders about the future of healthcare in Nigeria. Attendees, including representatives from government agencies and health technology firms, engaged in dialogue about opportunities for collaboration and investment in health tech. The consensus was clear: as Nigeria faces increasing healthcare demands and challenges, embracing technology is not merely beneficial; it is imperative.

The culmination of the event was a networking session where ideas flowed freely, fostering a spirit of collaboration that promises to enhance the landscape of healthcare delivery in Nigeria. Prof. Ahidjo’s influence extends beyond UMTH, as his leadership and vision inspire peers and upcoming healthcare professionals to strive for excellence in service delivery.

His recognition as a Govtech Trailblazer enriches the narrative of health reform in Nigeria, illustrating the pivotal role of innovative governance in public health. Prof. Ahidjo stands as a beacon for aspiring leaders, showcasing that with resilience, foresight, and collaboration, transformative change is attainable.

The Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer award conferred upon Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo not only celebrates his exemplary service but also symbolizes a broader movement towards modernization and efficiency within Nigeria’s healthcare system. As UMTH continues to flourish under his guidance, it is poised to lead by example, proving that strategic leadership and technology integration can radically enhance the quality of public healthcare services. The future appears bright, promising further advancements and recognition for the institution and its steadfast chief medical director, Prof. Ahidjo, who wears this new cap with unparalleled dignity and commitment to progress.

* James Bwala, PhD, writes from Abuja.

UMTH: Another Cap for the Chief Medical Director: Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo’s Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer Award