Red Cross builds Orthopedic Centre in Maiduguri

…to repair disabilities, insurgency victims in N/East

From Timothy Olanrewaju Maiduguri

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has handed over a newly built orthopedic centre; Physical Rehabilitation Centre (PRC) to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for the repairs of disabilities and wounded victims of insurgency in the North East.

UMTH Chief Medical Director(CMD), Prof Ahmed Ahidjo said the centre would help in alleviating the challenges of moving patients in need of physical rehabilitation to the National Orthopedic Hospital Dala in Kano, the only of such Federal facility in the north.

“It will impact positively on the patients health care delivery in northeast Nigeria. Many patients that will require physical rehabilitation will iow be brought here and other prerequisite services. It will also boost other serives we are doing,” the CMD told The Sun in Maiduguri during the handing over of the facility weekend.

He said the centre will equally complement the 150 bed capacity trauma centre being built by the hospital.

ICRC Head of sub-delegation Borno Office, Tahmineh Janghorban said the project was conceived by the organization due to the prevalence of violence caused by the armed group.
“As you know a lot of violence is going on in the northeast and ICRC has to deploy support for physical rehabilitation. We felt we need to come in tio support the state government,” she said at the handover of the centre.

She said ICRC has seen the need for patients in the northeast and the risk of patients travelling for long distance to Kano.

“This was why we decided to build the centre in Maiduguri to carter for the people in the northeast,” she disclosed.

The centre was located on 1,800 square metres land in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), according to a brief background by ICRC. It has a Digital Centre Management System (DCMS) to ensure enficiency in services, clinical area, offices, changing rooms for medical personnel, gait training area, workshop, stores among other.