AHMED MARI, Maiduguri
The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has provided and installed state of the art eye treatment equipment worth Billions of Naira to the Eye Hospital, Maiduguri, as well as concluded its two-week training, of Ophthalmologist to effectively handle the equipment.
They properly put into use the equipment after the commission on Monday and commenced a two-week Ophthalmology Equipment Set-Up and Training Programme at the Maiduguri Eye Hospital, Borno State, marking a significant milestone in the Commission’s sustained efforts to strengthen specialist healthcare services across the North-East.
The training, the installation and coupling of the state-of-the-art ophthalmic equipment, and the commencement of hands-on technical and clinical training sessions commenced immediately.
These initial activities are focused on ensuring that the advanced equipment recently deployed by NEDC is fully operational and optimally configured to support high-quality eye-care service delivery in the region.
The training is being led by Prof. Abdull Mohammed Mahdi, MBBS, MSc, PGD, FWACS, PhD, a highly respected expert and Chief Consultant in Ophthalmology.
It’s being co facilitated by Dr Abuh Sunday, Chief Consultant in Opthalmology supported by a team of experienced specialists in Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering.
Together, they bring decades of clinical, academic, and technical expertise to this capacity-building initiative.
Over the course of the programme, consultant ophthalmologists, resident doctors, ophthalmic nurses, optometrists, and biomedical technicians will receive intensive, hands-on training in the operation, maintenance, and optimal use of the supplied equipment.
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.
Importantly, the programme also supports the long-term objective of positioning Maiduguri Eye Hospital as a regional centre of excellence for ophthalmic care.
Also being trained are Consultant Ophthalmologists and Resident Ophthalmology Doctors and Ophthalmic Nurses and Biomedical Engineers from University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
Aside this training intervention, the Commission is undertaking significant infrastructure upgrades and renovation works at the Maiduguri Eye Hospital, aimed at improving clinical spaces, supporting modern equipment use, and enhancing overall patient experience.
These upgrades further reinforce NEDC’s integrated approach to health sector development combining infrastructure, equipment, and human-capacity investments.
The Commission is also advancing similar high-impact ophthalmic interventions across the North-East.
Notably, the construction of an ultra-modern Eye Institute at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, which commenced last year, is scheduled for accelerated implementation this year.
Speaking in an interview with journalists after the installation of equipment, the Managing Director/of the NEDC Alhaji Goni Alkali said, the gesture is to reposition the hospital for better service delivery, thereby replacing old equipment and some machines with modern and sophisticated ones, in order to cope with modern standard.
Alhaji Alkali said ” Last two years 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 said .
He said 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.
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