Segun Adewale Awofadeji writes on how multi- billion Naira Life- saving Oxygen Plant donated by IHS, Canadian Government and UNICEF is saving newborn and children suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses in Bauchi State.
Recently, a multi-billion Naira life-saving medical oxygen plant and Level 2 Newborn Unit constructed by UNICEF for newborns and children suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses at the General Hospital Azare, was officially handed over to the Bauchi State Government for use,
Medical oxygen is a vital component in healthcare particularly respiratory tracks and a key in addressing life-threatening maternal and newborn emergencies.
Precisely, it was on 10th December last year, about nine months back that the IHS Tower of Strength, Canadian Government in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) donated a Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant to reduce infant mortality and improve women’s health and general patients.
Investigations by our Correspondent revealed that the plant which was handed over to the Bauchi State Government through the Ministry of Health, has saved about 2,700 children from chronic respiratory disorder in nine months in Azare and other northern part of the state.
Also,operators and health workers in the area confirmed that the oxygen plant now served the newly established Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, (formerly Federal Medical Centre) Azare.
During an assessment of child survival and mortality rate in the northern part of the state, our Correspondent gathered that respiratory illnesses such as asthma and pneumonia, remain major contributors to child mortality, accounting for about 15 percent of deaths, especially in rural areas, without nearby hospitals, equipped with oxygen plants.
For years, infant and child mortality has remained high in the area, and a recent survey identified respiratory diseases like asthma and pneumonia, including cholera and diarrhoea, as leading causes of death, particularly in areas lacking medical oxygen facilities.
The Principal Medical Officer (PMO), General Hospital, Azare, in Katagum Local Government Area,
Dr Bello Idris, explained that the challenge had persisted for years, until the intervention of the IHS Tower of Strength, Canadian Government in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) who donated a Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) Oxygen Plant to reduce infant mortality and improve women’s health and general patients.
While confirming that the facility has significantly reduced child deaths in the region,he a I’m also explained that, oxygen, being an essential commodity in the management of diseases like pneumonia, chronic asthma and others that are more common among patients in the hospital has become free.
Dr. Dr Bello Idris explained that oxygen therapy in the management of cases like pneumonia, has “reduced mortality of children in the facility.
According to him, “Among about 2,500 patients monthly in this facility, children have a very significant number and that is why we have recorded success in reversing the ugly situation. In fact, other bigger hospitals are now referring patients to us just because of our accessibility to the oxygen plant.”
“Out of this number, (2,500 patients monthly) children account for more than 50 percent. Among these kids, we normally record not less than 300 babies with respiratory conditions and we have been handling that with the ready to use oxygen.”
He added that, “This amounts to saving over 2,700 children within the nine months of establishing the plant. Also, thousands of women must have been rescued from respiratory related conditions that might have threatened their lives”.
Also speaking to our Correspondent on the issue, Jamila Mohammed, a Senior Nurse in – charge of Deliveries, Paediatric Unit, General Hospital, Azare, acknowledged the positive impact the facility has on life-threatening maternal and newborn emergencies in the hospital.
She explained that there has been
a turnaround in neonatal health and mortality rate which, according to her was prevalent in the past.
“The plant has simplified the work we do. As a caregiver, it is always saddened seeing a patient that could easily be saved with the help of oxygen next to bed is being lost.
According to her, ” Today personally, I feel happy and elated anytime I resume duty, because things are so easy for us.We now have an oxygen pipe connecting every ward. We don’t even have to carry cylinders everywhere. And most importantly, with or without light, we are using oxygen”.
Another Senior Nurse and 2 i/c in- charge of Maternity Unit, General Hospital, Azare, Rukayat Abdulhamid narrated the condition of an eclamptic patient who was rushed to the facility and was administered oxygen amid palpitation before she came received succour.
According to Rukayat Abdulhamid,a registered Nurse and Midwife, “If it was a referral due to lack of oxygen, the woman might have given up but we were able to save her and the new baby”.
The story is the same at the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, (formerly Federal Medical Centre) Azare, where Nurse Barayatu Musa, Unit Manager, Special Baby Care, explained that there has been an improvement in the survival of neonates.
She narrated that “In the past, we have been travelling to either Bauchi town or Yobe State but the General Hospital’s Oxygen Plant has reduced this stress and to an extent, the mortality rate has reduced”.
In his own assessment, Dr. David Audu,a Health Specialist with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office, said the oxygen plant commissioned last year, has been life saving for both neonates and mothers, adding that, it has opened up opportunities for children, women and men not only in Azare but the entire Bauchi State
He said that statistics revealed that 15 percent of deaths in Under-5 children are caused by pneumonia.
According to him, the data has disturbed the UN Agency which anchors the wellbeing of children and women, hence the need to cite the facility in partnership with IHS and Canadian Government.
“Pneumonia is an infection of the lung, among the children that have pneumonia, a good number of them have low oxygen in the blood; about 13 percent among the affected children. The oxygen that comes out of the plant has gone a long way to save the lives of the children: reduced the mortality rates,” he explained.
The Health Specialist said that in most of Nigeria, only the tertiary hospitals have access to oxygen production while most of the secondary and primary healthcare centres, where most population use do not have oxygen.
While acknowledging the support received from the state government and host community, Dr Audu disclosed that plans are underway to upgrade the oxygen plant with solar power to ensure uninterrupted power supply at the facility.
Briefing a team of journalists on a facility tour to assess the impact and progress level of the plant since its commissioning last year, Dr. Mohammed Sambo Alkali, Executive Chairman, State Hospital Management Board, said that the facility is currently serving more than seven general hospitals in Bauchi North where there are secondary hospitals.
According to him, “The State government has completed other ones in Ningi and Tafawa Balewa local government areas to serve the rest of two zones”.
He said that the COVID-19 pandemic left a disastrous mark in the Nation’s health sector, with many health care facilities with no oxygen plants and no ventilator, pointing out that, “We came together with our partners and decided to install the oxygen plant at a secondary hospital to benefit the common man”.
The Executive Chairman said the newly constructed oxygen plant has significantly reduced the death rate of children under 5, as well as cost implications, across seven local governments within the Northern Zone of the State.
While noting that the oxygen plant covers over 70 percent of the population that accesses daily services at the facility,Dr Alkali said that based on the approximate data being received from the facility, it is evident that there has been a significant reduction in children’s deaths as a result of the oxygen plant sited at the General Hospital Azare.
Dr. Alkali explained that the state government is planning to expand the services to reach nearby secondary general hospitals in Gamawa, Zaki, Itas/Gadau, Jama’are, Giade, and Shira Local Government Areas of the state.
He further further disclosed that the government would also purchase all the necessary equipment, such as gas cylinders and pipes, to ensure the effective service delivery and utilization of the plant.
The Executive Chairman who expressed gratitude and appreciation to UNICEF, IHS and the Canadian government for this great gesture,pledged to maintain and utilize it effectively.
Dr. Alkali informed that the state government had already reached an agreement with the Federal Medical Center in Azare to scale up oxygen supply and introduce a nominal service charge for patients, saying this charge would help offset the upkeep and maintenance costs of the facility, ensuring a self-sustaining system.
Recall that the multi-billion Naira life-saving medical oxygen plant and Level 2 Newborn Unit constructed by UNICEF for newborns and children suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses at the General Hospital Azare was officially handed over to the Bauchi State Government for use late last year.
The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Cristian Munduate, who performed the official handover ceremony at General Hospital Azare, Bauchi State, said that the oxygen plant is a beacon of innovation and resilience, assuring that it will save countless lives and provide a model for similar initiatives across the country.
The establishment of the plant, according to findings represents a remarkable step forward in a shared commitment to improving maternal, newborn and child health in Bauchi State and across Nigeria, where mortality is kept under control.
