NNPC, Shell Nigeria donate paediatric ward, lab to Bauchi community

To improve child healthcare and cater for non-COVID-19 cases in hospitals in Bauchi State, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other co-venture partners, have donated a newly built and well-equipped 10-bed space paediatrics ward, medical laboratory to the state.

The donations from SNEPCo and NNPC to Jama’Are Local Government Area in Bauchi State, was also equipped with water facilities and water treatment plant powered by a10Kva solar system.

This was disclosed in a statement made available to Persecondnews on Sunday.

“We hope that this will mark the start of a new experience in health care services for the people in Jama’Are community, as we continue to work with governments at all levels and other stakeholders to help in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal Three by the year 2030.

“We are glad that this intervention is at a time when the attention of the world is on health. Recent events across the world, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, have become reminders that accessible health facilities and affordable quality healthcare services are critical to lives of individuals, especially children, and also to businesses and governments, and therefore should be deserve all the attention that we can all give,” the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Elohor Aiboni, said at the virtual facility handover.

On his part, the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), the investment subsidiary of NNPC, Mr. Bala Wunti, said: “The effort of SNEPCo and the other co-venturers to complete the project, which will help to reduce the gap in the child health care needs of the Jama’Are community and its environs, is commendable.”

Wunti enjoined the community to put this facility to the best use in a sustainable manner, as he reiterated NNPC’s commitment to investing in programmes that touch the lives of all Nigerians and the environment.

Also speaking, the Acting State Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayyadu Muhammad Hassan, lauded the donation saying: “Bauchi State appreciates NNPC and SNEPCo for this timely intervention in the health sector.

“This intervention will go a long way in addressing the rampant morbidity within the female and children sector in the state.”