Borno govt inaugurates 400-bed teaching hospital

Borno State Government has inaugurated a 400-bed teaching hospital in Maiduguri as part of efforts to reduce medical tourism, expand access to specialist healthcare and strengthen medical training in the state.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima commissioned the Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital and other projects delivered by Governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s administration on Friday.

The hospital is a comprehensive healthcare and training facility equipped with 13 specialist departments covering diagnostic services, surgery, emergency care, paediatrics, internal medicine and physiotherapy, among others.

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The complex also comprises a medical college, students’ hostel, 200-unit staff estate and an oxygen plant.

Its diagnostic facilities include a 1.5-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, a 160-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner, three conventional and two mobile X-ray machines, three 4D ultrasound machines, a fluoroscopy system for real-time imaging and a digital mammography machine.

The investment is expected to reduce the need for residents of Borno and neighbouring communities to travel outside the state or country for advanced medical services. It is also expected to serve patients from communities across the Lake Chad region while improving access to specialist care.

Beyond healthcare delivery, the institution is expected to help address shortages of skilled health workers by training doctors, nurses and allied health professionals for Borno and the wider North-East region.

Speaking at the commissioning, Shettima commended Zulum for investing in healthcare and education, describing the projects as institutions capable of standing the test of time.

He said, “We shall be judged by what survives our time in office, the offices we held, the aides who surrounded us, and the length of our convoys will have surrendered their importance. What will endure are the institutions we built, the roads we built and the lives we improved through service. That is the meaning of our gathering here in Maiduguri. That is why this occasion brings me such joy.”

The Vice-President added, “According to Carl Sagan’s law of insignificance, 100 years from now, everyone you know or who knows you will be out of this world. This is why I do not doubt the vision of His Excellency Professor Babagana Umara Zulum; his passion for healthcare and education is expressed in the institution before us.”

He further said the teaching hospital and schools built across the state reflected the administration’s commitment to making recovery meaningful to residents.

“The ultra-modern Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital and the school that dotted our landscape in Maiduguri and across the state give substance to his belief that Borno recovery must reach the patient awaiting treatment and the child sitting in a place in the classroom,” he said.

Shettima also commissioned Yerwa Practice Mega Primary School, constructed by the Zulum administration, and another mega primary school delivered under the Kashim Shettima Free Education Programme.

The programme, associated with the Vice-President, provides free education for orphans and vulnerable children.

The projects form part of the state government’s broader efforts to strengthen public healthcare, expand educational access and improve essential services for residents.