The Bauchi State Government has initiated a N7.8 billion project to upgrade the Bauchi Specialist Hospital as part of a broader effort to improve healthcare delivery across the state.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sani Mohammed, made this known while presenting the health sector scorecard of Governor Bala Mohammed’s administration over the past year. He stated that the hospital upgrade includes comprehensive rehabilitation and the installation of modern medical equipment to bring the facility up to international standards. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
In addition to the specialist hospital upgrade, the state has begun the second phase of its healthcare infrastructure development programme, which involves the renovation of 12 general hospitals and 212 primary healthcare centres.
Dr. Mohammed also announced plans to install solar power systems in 27 general hospitals, the Ministry of Health Headquarters, the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, and the Hospital Management Board. These installations aim to ensure uninterrupted power supply for critical health services.
To address the shortage of medical personnel, the governor has approved the recruitment of 10,000 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and other cadres. The state has also extended the retirement age for lecturers in state-owned health colleges to 65 years to improve capacity in health education and training.
“The government has increased the service years of lecturers at the Aliko Dangote College of Nursing and Sciences in Bauchi and the Bill & Melinda Gates College of Health Technology in Ningi by an additional five years,” Dr. Mohammed added.
The administration has also made strategic investments to improve drug supply and immunisation efforts. A total of N250 million has been injected into the Bauchi State Agency for Drugs and Medical Consumables, and the government has contributed N800 million in counterpart funding for immunisation programmes.
As part of a partnership with the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, 10,000 hearing aid kits have been distributed to health facilities across the state. In another major development, medical oxygen plants have been established in Azare, Misau, Ningi, Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi Specialist Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Azare. These plants are intended to enhance the supply of medical oxygen in Bauchi and neighbouring states.
Emergency Ambulance Services have also commenced at the Bauchi Specialist Hospital and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBU-TH), offering free medical care to patients during the first 48 hours of emergency treatment.
Meanwhile, surgeon Dr. Hassan Garba has urged the state government to prioritize the collection and use of high-quality data to inform planning and health policy implementation.
He advocated for the deployment of data analysts to both public and private health institutions to create unified health statistics for research and development purposes.
