The Committee of Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria (CCMDFTH) has explained that its practice of rotating quarterly meetings among regions and member hospitals is designed to promote peer learning, networking and the exchange of best practices.

Chairman of the committee, Professor Saad Ahmed, said the policy informed the decision to hold its 115th meeting in the South-East, with the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, Abia State, serving as host.

Ahmed spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing meeting, scheduled to end on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at Sun Heaven Hotel, Umuahia.

He said the committee selects a region and a hospital to host its quarterly meeting, using the opportunity to inspect the host facility, share experiences and identify practices that could be replicated in other federal hospitals.

“Whenever we come for our meetings, we use the opportunity to go through the facility that is in place in our host facility, and in this case, the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, to see what they do.

“We offer advice on how to improve on certain things and also copy the good things that we see so that we can implement the same in other federal hospitals. Doing this has helped us a great deal.

“Number one, in giving orientation to some of our young members. Number two, whenever we come, we see the good things others are doing, which encourage us to also do better. It gives us the opportunity to network amongst ourselves so that, in terms of collaboration, usually we start from within before looking for collaborations outside the country.”

Power remains major challenge

Ahmed, who said the committee represents 85 federal tertiary hospitals, identified inadequate and unreliable power supply as one of the sector’s major challenges apart from funding.

He said federal tertiary hospitals spend substantial resources on energy but expressed optimism that ongoing government initiatives could reduce the burden.

According to him, the National Power in Health Initiative, being led by the Minister of State for Health, is working to attract partners that can invest in providing cheaper and cleaner energy to healthcare facilities.

“There are presently some 14 hospitals that are going to be in the pilot. And once they start, we can now learn from what they do in those hospitals and then see how we can roll over to many more hospitals if it works,” he said.

Ahmed also cited interventions by the Rural Electrification Agency, noting that the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital had benefited from such support.

He stressed that reducing energy costs was critical to improving healthcare delivery.

“Much cannot be done now in the health sector without energy,” he said.

Federal hospitals defend charges

The CCMDFTH chairman also rejected claims that medical charges in federal tertiary hospitals are higher than those in other public hospitals.

He said the comparison should be made between the cost of services in public and private hospitals.

Ahmed also pointed to social and emergency services available in federal hospitals, including those provided under the National Emergency Medical Treatment and Ambulance System (NEMSAS).

He said some emergency cases, including accident victims and snakebite patients, could receive treatment free of charge for the first 48 hours before billing begins, where applicable under the relevant programme.

He urged chief medical directors and medical directors to do more to educate the public about services available in their facilities.

Addressing his colleagues at the opening session, Ahmed said they had a responsibility to ensure that communities around their hospitals understood the services available to them and how to access them.

“We need to tell the public or the community where we operate all the services and things that we do so that they can be informed and also know how to access the services,” he said.

Why Umuahia was chosen

Ahmed gave two reasons for selecting Abia State and FMC Umuahia as the venue for the 115th meeting.

He said the first was to honour the host Medical Director, Professor Azubuike Onyebuchi, who is also the committee’s vice chairman.

“One being that Professor Onyebuchi, who is the MD of the host FMC, is a very much respected CCMDFTH vice chairman, and we also hear of all the good things that he has been doing in the FMC Umuahia facility,” he said.

The second reason, he said, was the committee’s interest in the reforms and governance initiatives of Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, particularly in the health sector.

“We have heard so much about what the governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, is doing in terms of governance and leadership. And we equally wanted to come and see some of these, particularly those that have to do with the health sector, including to learn some of the things he did, does and has articulated to do,” Ahmed said.

Host welcomes delegates

Welcoming the delegates, Onyebuchi, on behalf of the management, staff and patients of FMC Umuahia, thanked God for their safe arrival and assured them that necessary arrangements had been made to ensure the success of the meeting and their wellbeing.

He also thanked Governor Otti for his support, saying the governor’s sudden trip abroad prevented him from attending the meeting.

“I thank the governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, for supporting me throughout this process, and regret that the call of duty prompted his sudden travel abroad few days ago. But I pray for his return before the end of the meeting on Thursday,” he said.

Onyebuchi welcomed the delegates to Umuahia and commended the Local Organising Committee, led by Dr Ugo Onyeonooro, a community physician and former Chairman of the Medical Advisory Council, for its preparations for the meeting.