Vice Chancellor commends President Buhari’s efforts to improve healthcare delivery

Vice Chancellor, federal university, Lokoja (FULokoja), Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts to improve healthcare delivery in the country. The academician lauded the president for the establishment of the newly established Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja and three new other Teaching Hospitals across Nigeria. Akinwumi, said the Buhari administration has moved tertiary health care delivery to the front burner, making it easier for Nigerians to access tertiary health care at low cost, given the increased proximity to tertiary health care.
This follows the conversion and upgrade of Four federal health facilities to the status of Teaching Hospitals.

Addressing a joint press conference with the Chief Medical Director of the new Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, Dr Olatunde Oladeji Alabi,  on Tuesday, to formally announce the linkage of the newly established Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Lokoja with the College of health sciences of Federal University Lokoja (FULokoja), Professor Akinwumi, said the Governing Council, Senate, management and staff of FULokoja, was delighted by the upgrade of Lokoja federal medical centre as it now aids the teaching of medical sciences in FULokoja college of health sciences.

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With this development, Prof. Akinwumi, said FTH Lokoja, would provide clinical training for medical and premedical students of FULokoja, which prides itself as a Nigerian university with the largest medical college in terms of size and anticipated complement of medical academics. The newly established tertiary health facilities, named Federal Teaching Hospitals (FTH), are located in Lokoja, Gombe, Ido, and Katsina Cities, with a  geographical spread, aimed at adding value to Nigeria’s tertiary healthcare delivery system.

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, on 10th February 2023, approved the upgrade of the federal medical centre, Lokoja, to a federal teaching hospital vide an act of the national assembly, in June 2022. Nigerian senate, passed the FTH Bill into law on 21st June 2022, in furtherance of the Buhari administration’s healthcare sector development plan.

Akinwumi, adds that “The university’s responsibility to the hospital will include the construction of Hostels, Medical Laboratory Complex and lecture auditoriums within the hospital.

“We are indeed poised to attract the best medical academics to the federal university Lokoja college of health sciences. I’m also aware of the competencies of the Consultants at the Teaching Hospital.

“The combination of these competencies and seasoned medical academics will no doubt, produce all-round medical graduates that will fill the yawning gap that exists in the health sector of not only Kogi state but Nigeria,” Akinwumi, added.

According to Akinwumi, “There are about 80,000 registered medical practitioners on the register of the medical and dental council of Nigeria (MDCN) as of May 2022. Out of this number, about 40,000 Medical Doctors are actively practising in Nigeria.

“By World Health Organization (WHO) standards, one Doctor is to 100 patients, but in Nigeria, it is one Doctor to more than 4,000 patients. This is grossly inadequate and unacceptable, especially in a developing country like Nigeria.

“Research conducted in recent times shows that in the next 10 years, Kogi State Medical Centres and Hospitals will experience great inertia of Medical Doctors of Kogi State origin,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellorlor noted that about 98% of qualified students of Kogi State origin who applied to study medicine and surgery in Nigerian universities outside Kogi State, have often been denied admissions due to stiff competition for placement, and appealed to the rich, philanthropists and Corporate Bodies within and outside the state to donate infrastructure facilities to FULokoja to ease its burden of providing infrastructural facilities to the young growing university.