The United Nations Children’s Fund and its partner have donated an oxygen plant and oxygen delivery device to the General Hospital in Eleme, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, South-south Nigeria. The plant can produce 720,000 litres of oxygen daily.
Speaking at the commissioning and the handing over of the plant, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Christian Munduate, said the initiative follows a comprehensive, nationwide assessment of oxygen needs in health facilities across 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory.
Munduate further said the initiative is in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, IHS Nigeria, the Canadian Government, and the Rivers State government.
She stated, “The handover of this newly built oxygen generation plant marks a crucial advancement in our mission to supply medical-grade oxygen to healthcare facilities.
“The plant will significantly boost the capacity of the Eleme General Hospital and surrounding healthcare facilities to provide life-saving medical oxygen. It will ensure that medical oxygen is readily available and accessible, reducing dependency on external supplies and ensuring that emergencies are swiftly and effectively managed.
“The impact of this facility cannot be overstated, it will save lives, improve health outcomes, and provide a stronger foundation for the comprehensive healthcare that every individual deserves.”
Munduate further said the plant has two newborn units as she urged the state government to employ skilled professionals to man and operate the facility
She said, “Your Excellency, the child and health sector-friendly executive governor of Rivers, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, I will not end this speech without a key ask from UNICEF to the government that put the people first in the delivery of governance.
“We humbly see the commitment of the Rivers State government in the employment/deployment of skilled healthcare professionals to the newly established level two newborn units which is in this same facility.
“The newborn unit is fully equipped with state-of-the-art equipment with the support from UNICEF and the United States Agency for International Development. An urgent recruitment/deployment and commissioning of the newborn unit will potentiate the advantage of having the two innovations in this facility to provide high-quality services to the newborns of Rivers State.”
Munduate thanked the Rivers State government and expressed confidence that the government will effectively maintain the plant to maximize its impact.
Governor Fubara appreciated UNICEF for situating the plant in the state and assured that the state would ensure the protection and maintenance of the facility.
Fubara said, “What we are doing today is in line with our three-point agenda of affordable healthcare services, quality education and agriculture; and you are witness to what we have done, not one year, but in the past six months of this administration.
“We have touched healthcare services like never before in our state. We have spent and we are spending to make sure that Rivers State becomes a health tourism state.
“Let’s set the record straight, it is not our project, it is a UNICEF project, supported by the Federal Government and other partners.
“But the unique thing about this project is, it needs to be sighted somewhere, people who understand the need, people who are spending, people who are making a positive investment in healthcare and that is why we gained that privilege and I want to assure you that we are going to protect this project.”
Continuing, the Governor said, “We are going to protect it, we will do everything within our power, we will ensure that the health management board puts everything in place to secure it and also the community, Eleme, my people will also secure it because, at the end of the day, it will bring development to Eleme.”
Earlier, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, while describing the plant, said, “The capacity of this oxygen plant is the production of up to 135 cylinders of oxygen in 24 hours.
“What this means is that we have up to 720,000 litres of oxygen produced by this plant daily.
“It means that 100 children with severe pneumonia can receive oxygen from this plant to save their lives and up to 50 to 60 adults with severe respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19, can benefit from the oxygen that is produced daily in this plant.”
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS
