President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate upgrade of no fewer than 16 hospitals across the country.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who made this known via a statement issued on Friday, February 16, 2024, noted that the development is in line with the present administration’s vision of overhauling the health and social welfare sector for enhanced service delivery to all Nigerians.

Ngelale stated that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) will carry out the comprehensive upgrade of cancer-treatment infrastructure and other critical developments in six tertiary hospitals across several geo-political zones, in addition to the full renovation and expansion of prior investments to improve broad-based access to high-quality healthcare in all six geo-political zones of the federation.

He said six teaching hospitals across geo-political zones have been marked for the establishment of oncology and nuclear medicine centres per facility as part of Tinubu’s bid to ensure that world-class cancer diagnosis and care is accessible across the country.

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The presidential spokesman listed the teaching hospitals to include the University of Benin Teaching Hospital; Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital; University of Nigeria (Nsukka) Teaching Hospital; Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina; University of Jos Teaching Hospital; and Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Ngelale noted that ten critical healthcare service expansion projects across the fields of radiology, clinical pathology, medical and radiation oncology, and cardiac catheterization will be carried out in ten hospitals across all geo-political zones.

The hospitals are North-West: Reference Hospital, Kaduna — (Radiology, clinical pathology, medical and radiation oncology); South-East: Medical Diagnostic Centre Complex, Enugu — (Radiology, clinical pathology, medical and radiation oncology); North-West: Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto — (Diagnostic and intervention radiology, clinical pathology, and cardiac catheterization); and South-West: University College Hospital, Ibadan — (Diagnostic and intervention radiology, clinical pathology, and cardiac catheterization).

Others include South-South: University of Uyo Teaching Hospital — (Radiology and clinical pathology); North-East: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi — (Radiology and clinical pathology); South-South: Federal Medical Centre, Asaba — (Radiology and clinical pathology); North-Central: Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Centre Complex, Ilorin — (Radiology and clinical pathology); North-Central: Jos University Teaching Hospital — (Radiology and clinical pathology); and North-East: Federal Medical Centre, Nguru — (Radiology and clinical pathology)

The presidential spokesman added that the projects, which would be delivered within 12 to 18 months, would improve screening and diagnostics for communicable and non-communicable diseases; reduce mortality rates and improve outcomes for non-communicable diseases; create considerable employment opportunities for clinical, administrative, and managerial personnel across the six geo-political zones.

The Star