By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri

The North East Development Commission (NEDC) on Monday concluded its two-week training, with installation of N3 billion Ophthalmology equipment it procured for Borno/Dental Hospital in Maiduguri.

Speaking to Journalists, the Managing Director/CEO of the Commission, Alhaji Goni Alkali said, the gesture is to reposition the hospital for better, thereby replacing old equipment and some machines with modern and sophisticated ones, in order to cope with modern standard.

“Last two ago, we were here to assess the situation of machines on ground, and we discovered that, there is the need to replace most of these old equipment. We procured some of the modern equipment last year, and we are here again not only to install these machines, but to also interact with staff on ground who have undergone two weeks training on how to handle or manage these equipment.

“NEDC is not intervening in Borno Eye Hospital, we have spent a lot of resources in the health sector across many hospitals and tertiary health institutions in all the six states of the North East, in addition to the training and retraining of health workers”. Alkali stated.

He noted that this initiative marked a significant milestone in the Commission’s sustained efforts to strengthen specialist healthcare services across the North-East.

The training lead, Prof. Abdul Mohammed Mahdi, a highly respected expert and Chief Consultant in Ophthalmology from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, Bauchi state, co -facilitated by Dr Abuh Sunday, Chief Consultant in Opthalmology, supported by other team of experts, brought together decades of clinical, academic, and technical expertise to ensure smooth conduct of the exercise.

According to Professor Mahdi, the training is designed to enhance surgical and diagnostic capacity, improve clinical outcomes for cataract and glaucoma patients, and strengthen the hospital’s ability to deliver safe, modern, and efficient eye-care services.