Health Minister to unveil 350-bed Int’l hospital on Tuesday

From Isaac Job, Uyo

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Mohammad Ali Pate, will on Tuesday unveil the 350-bed Ibom International Hospital and Medical City located in Uyo.

This is coming on the heels of the state of emergency declared by the state government in the health sector. In pursuit of this, the government equipped existing hospitals and renovated old ones just as it employed over 2000 medical personnel as part of major reforms in the health sector.

A statement signed by  the Commissioner of Information Hon Aniekan Umanah and made available to Journalists in Uyo described the project as a flagship healthcare development initiative designed to strengthen medical service delivery with expanded innovation to position the state as a leading destination for healthcare and medical tourism in Africa.

Umanah, in the statement said that the commissioning of the project marks a major milestone in the Governor Umo Eno administration. He further stated the National Coordinator, Presidential Initiative on Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, Dr Abdu Mukhtar, would be on hand to event.

He explained that the Ibom Medical City Project is being implemented through a coordinated effort of the Ministries of Health, Special Duties, and Housing designed to deliver an integrated healthcare ecosystem that combines clinical services, medical education, research, accommodation, innovation, and wellness within a single development framework.

“The project, which is supervised by Tokiye Integrated Medical Services (TIMS), a healthcare project development and management firm with operations in Nigeria and the United Kingdom emerged from the endorsement of healthcare stakeholders as a follow up to the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health ARISE Health Sector Town Hall meeting held last year.”

Elaborating on the key features of the medical city project, he said that it is a 10-storey, 350-bed hospital which will provide services through 24 specialized departments, 100-unit residential accommodation for medical personnel and medical research and training centres.

Others include pharmaceutical and laboratory hubs, digital health and wellness infrastructure to support advanced healthcare delivery and medical tourism.