As a sign of its commitment to over sixty years of friendly diplomatic relations with Nigeria, the United States on January 22 donated a hospital to help boost the country’s capacity in the management of Covid-19 cases.
In her remarks during the commissioning ceremony, US ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, noted that the “$1.3 million field hospital is a testament to the continued partnership between the US and Nigeria.”
Leonard joined honourable minister of state for health, Dr. Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, to commission the mobile field hospital donated by the United States government to help Nigeria’s effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The United States has so far committed more than $488 million in equipment, training and education to help African countries combat COVID-19, and more than $73 million of those donations have been made to Nigeria.
This includes the delivery of 200 ventilators, epidemiological COVID detection surveys, technical assistance, and service plans.
The newly donated field hospital to Nigeria is located at the Federal Medical Center, Jabi, a neighbourhood in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
The medical facility comes with four fully-equipped negative pressure isolation facilities with the capacity to house up to 40 patients. It also includes an administrative unit, a 160-kw auxiliary generator, and other support equipment, such as beds, subfloors, showers, and lavatories.
It was donated to the Nigerian ministry of health by the United States department of defense’s US Africa command, with support from the US CDC, and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). The hospital was built in the USA and manufactured by Alaska Structures, but assembled in Abuja by an all-Nigerian team.
Ambassador Leonard said “as we celebrate 60 years of US-Nigeria diplomatic relations and many years of health partnerships, it is deeply satisfying to look back on the many ways we have worked together to improve the health, safety, and security of the Nigerian people.”
She assured that the US government will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Nigeria to achieve these aims and remain committed to helping the country implement effective health efforts and improve its capacity to safely isolate and treat confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Leonard further noted that, in addition to providing isolation capacity, “supporting healthcare workers who are caring for patients at this facility and across the country is critical to Nigeria’s effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The hospital’s commissioning ceremony was hosted by Dr. Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora on behalf of the minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, and the federal government of Nigeria.
It was witnessed by top government officials in the health sector, including Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, the permanent secretary in federal ministry of health, and Dr. Adebimpe Adebiyi, director of hospital services in the ministry.
Other participants included the director-general, Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, and the chairman, committee of chief medical directors in tertiary hospitals in Nigeria, who is also the CMD at the National Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Jack Momoh.
Over 60 members of the US mission in Nigeria, selected from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), USAID, and the US department of defense’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, have stood side by side with Nigerian counterparts to strengthen healthcare capacity in Nigeria, especially in the management or treatment of Covid-19 cases.
Over the past eleven months, the US mission in the country has collaborated with the National Center for Disease Control, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, and the Nigerian military to strategize, plan, and effectively implement treatment of Nigerian citizens.
