Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) has handed over a fully equipped 120-bed mother and child hospital to Kaduna State Government.
The 120-bed mother and child hospital is equipped with state-or-the-art facilities, including operating theatres, recovery rooms, private and general wards, scanning room, consultation rooms and laboratory, ultra-scan machine, vacuum extractor delivery set and an emergency cart with full compliments.
The facility which is one of the over 25 of such advanced medical facilities being established across the country also has quarters for doctors in addition to an intensive care ambulance and another well-equipped ambulance.
Speaking during the commissioning and handover ceremony of the facility at Dandaura community in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Friday, January 13, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, noted that the project is a strategic intervention directly linked to the achievement of SDG-3 on ‘quality health and well-being for all’ as well as other cross-cutting SDGs.
She added that interventions like the mother and child centres are necessary to stop the primary and secondary effects of COVID-19 pandemic from reversing decades of human development gained through the SDGs.
Presidential adviser commended President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the needed resources for delivery of key interventions to governments at subnational levels to fast-track the achievement of SDGs.
She also commended Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i, for his commitment and support to the collective desire to implement the SDGs in Nigeria.
“OSSAP-SDGs and Kaduna State government have worked closely and tirelessly to construct and furnished this state-of-the-art facility as a strategic tool for healthcare service provisioning in the state.
“It is, therefore, expected that the Kaduna State government, and indeed other state governments, benefitting from such interventions, will make judicious use of the facilities in a sustainable way for the benefit of our mothers and children.
“We will continue to prioritise interventions with potential impacts on the lives of the poor and vulnerable members of our society, so that no Nigerian is left behind,” Orelope-Adefulire said.
Governor El-Rufai, who was represented by his Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Umma Yusuf Aboki, expressed his sincere appreciation to President Buhari and OSSAP-SDGs for the hospital project.
He also reiterated the commitment of his government to the achievement of SDGs and on human development as well as expressed his appreciation to OSSAP-SDGs for the interventions and other ongoing projects in the state.
The governor also urged the beneficiaries to access, use and protect the facility.
A top traditional ruler in the area, Emir of Kauru, Zakari Ya’u Shehu, Usman II, urged the community to take ownership, use and protect the facility in a bid to ensure sustainability.