NWDC Moves to Make Quality Healthcare More Affordable in North-West

The North-West Development Commission (NWDC) has partnered Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Kano, to explore ways of making quality healthcare more affordable and accessible to patients.

The Managing Director of the Commission, Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, disclosed this recently in Kano when he hosted the Chief Medical Director of Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Isa Nurudeen.

Professor Ma’aji said the Commission, as an intervention agency, would conduct a needs assessment of the hospital’s operational requirements, particularly its energy needs for powering sophisticated medical equipment.

He said the assessment would form the basis for developing a partnership framework aimed at reducing the hospital’s operational and maintenance costs.

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According to him, the Commission’s intervention and possible subsidisation of operational costs would ultimately help reduce service charges for patients.

Professor Ma’aji said the Commission was also prepared to extend similar support to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria, and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.

He noted that the three healthcare institutions, like Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, provide services to the general public and should therefore be supported to improve their service delivery while making healthcare more accessible and affordable.

The NWDC Managing Director added that the partnership would also include the training of technical personnel in the operation and maintenance of medical equipment.

He explained that the training would ensure that operational and maintenance challenges could be addressed promptly without necessarily waiting for manufacturers to intervene.

Professor Ma’aji expressed optimism that improved functionality of the healthcare facilities would help reduce the frequency of Nigerians travelling abroad for medical treatment, while also contributing to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Isa Nurudeen, said his visit was to seek the Commission’s support in addressing some of the operational challenges confronting the hospital.

He specifically highlighted the hospital’s energy requirements, particularly for its new sophisticated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine recently donated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Dr. Nurudeen explained that the MRI machine requires a continuous 24-hour electricity supply to operate optimally, a requirement he said was costly and beyond the hospital management’s capacity due to the high cost of electricity from the national grid and diesel.

He therefore appealed to the Commission to support the hospital in providing a sustainable alternative source of energy to power the equipment.

The North-West Development Commission was established in 2024 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, among other objectives, accelerate infrastructure development and address longstanding developmental gaps across the North-West region.

Its core mandate areas include security, agriculture, health, education, environment, and women and youth development.

The press release was signed by Abdulrashid Y. Safana, Head, Press and Public Relations, North-West Development Commission.