The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has equipped the Maiduguri Eye Hospital (MEYH) with modern ophthalmology equipment valued at N3 billion to boost eye care services across the North-East, comprising six states.

According to the commission, the installation of the new equipment marks a significant step towards improving specialist healthcare delivery for eye care.

Flagging off the installation of the ophthalmology equipment on Monday in Maiduguri, Borno State, the Managing Director of the NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, disclosed: “The installed eye and glaucoma treatment facilities at the hospital are fully operational to support the diagnosis and surgical procedures for thousands of patients in the region.”
He stated that the objective of the commission was not only to supply eye care and glaucoma treatment equipment, but also to ensure that they are properly utilised by doctors, nurses and midwives.

Alkali added that the ongoing two-week capacity training for health workers was designed to support the already installed ophthalmology diagnostic equipment in strengthening healthcare delivery in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
The managing director, therefore, urged ophthalmologists, resident doctors, ophthalmology technicians and other health workers to practically apply what they had learnt during the two-week training sessions at the hospital.

He said this reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to upgrading healthcare delivery through increased investment and human capital development in the health sector.

Alkali explained that the healthcare interventions followed an earlier assessment of the hospital’s equipment, which had become obsolete and required urgent replacement to meet modern standards of healthcare delivery.
“We are combining the deployment of equipment with structured training for those who will operate and maintain the healthcare facilities,” he said.

The training, led by Prof. Abdull Mahdi, a consultant in ophthalmology, and supported by Dr Abuh Sunday, also a consultant in ophthalmology, alongside a team of specialists in ophthalmology and biomedical engineering, assured Alkali and members of the public that the exercise would further deepen healthcare delivery services in the North-East.
Mahdi also supported the long-term objective of repositioning the Maiduguri Eye Hospital as a regional centre of excellence in ophthalmic care.

In addition to the two-week training, the commission is also undertaking infrastructure upgrades and renovation works at the eye hospital to improve what he described as “clinical spaces” and the use of modern health facilities to enhance the delivery of eye care services to the public.