The Rotary Club of Omole-golden, District 9110 has donated a neonatal building to the Lagos State government.
The building, located within the premises of Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital is designed to cater for the neonatal period of the newborn which is the first 28 days and most critical period for both pre-term and full-term babies that are sick.
The President, Rotary Club of Omole-golden, Mr. Alih Hassan Ogwu said the gesture was geared towards opening opportunities and ensure that projects executed by the Club benefit all that are concern, particularly the newborn.
While speaking at the official handing over ceremony of the facility, Mr Ogwu explained that the aim of the Club was to save more lives and reduce neonatal mortality rate and address complications that may lead to birth defects.
“My heart is filled with joy that in my own tenure as a President, this project that was conceptualized two years before my tenure, is now a reality. I am filled with joy.
“I came as President when Covid-19 ravaged the world and it affected the progress of the building, but with the doggedness of our members, we are able to achieve this feat, which to us is service is to humanity.
And I am optimistic that the project will add enormous value to the life of all the beneficiaries.” he said.
He mentioned that the Club has intervened in so many areas of endeavors, from health, environment, businesses, schools among others, with a focus to improving lives and living.
Passion to serve
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Olusola Amure who was copiously elated by the gesture commended the Club for the passion to serve the less privileged.
He said that the gesture of Rotary Club Omole-golden started couple of years ago after two set of twins were lost as a result of dearth of incubators and physiotherapy machines in the hospital and the Club’s intervention to donate the items at that time has since paid off, with more individuals and groups now sharing similar gestures.
Dr. Amure also affirmed that the donation is a step towards supporting repositioning of the State health care services which will go along way to reducing neonatal mortality.
According to him “The Rotary people came in when they discovered that we were lacking incubators and physiotherapy machines which are key elements in managing neonatal conditions like jaundice and prematurity, they made donation of new ones as well as refurbished the ones that have broken down.
And having done that, they find out that the Special Care baby unit could only contain about maximum of 5 pre-term babies at a time and that led to the decision to build a structure that can create for wider spaces”
He assured that the hospital management would protect the facility and ensure qualified personnel are deployed to render efficient service to the citizens of the State.
Love for children
One of the Past Presidents of the Club, Mrs. Ibironke Ogun, whose tenure between 2018-19 initiated the idea said that she was motivated by her love for children, noting that donation of medical equipment to the hospital has been a tradition over the years.
She said “It has been the tradition of our Club to donating incubators to the hospital.
Past Presidens of the Club had been donating incubators and physiotherapy equipment to the hospital every year and during my tenure we did some need assessment and realised that there are numerous incubators and physiotherapy equipment that were kept somewhere unused.”
“What I did was to put all those equipment in proper shape and added new ones and we started looking at where we can keep those equipment that kids can benefit from and that was what prompted the idea of construction so that we can build a space for it, make proper use of those equipment, and save more lives.”
Going forward
Speaking on what follows after the donation, Ogun stressed that adequate arrangements have been made to ensure the facility is equipped to begin full operation.
“Rotary does not concern with building construction, so, the project was sponsored with individual contributions.
The next stage will be very easy for us because it is supported by Rotary International and they are ready to put the necessary equipment here now. So, now that we have the building, the sky is the limit for this hospital to have all it take to have the state-of-the-earth neonatal building.”
The Club maintained that it will access the global grant of the Rotary International Club to equip the facility, carry out the training of staff and maintenance of the facility for at least one year.
Confidence Okwuchi
