By Ahmed Ahmed
Borno State has commissioned a 400-bed teaching hospital equipped with advanced diagnostic technology and specialist departments, in a move aimed at reducing medical tourism, strengthening healthcare delivery and expanding medical training in the North-East.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima commissioned the Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital in Maiduguri on Friday, alongside other projects delivered by the administration of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum.
The hospital is designed to bring advanced diagnostic and specialist services closer to residents who might otherwise travel outside the state or country to access certain forms of medical care.
The facility comprises 13 specialist departments covering diagnostic services, medicine, surgery, emergency care, paediatrics, internal medicine and physiotherapy, among others. Its supporting infrastructure includes a medical college complex, a students’ hostel, a 200-unit staff estate and an oxygen plant complex.
Its diagnostic equipment includes 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 and a digital mammography machine.
Beyond clinical services, the institution is expected to strengthen the training of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, addressing healthcare workforce shortages affecting Borno State and the wider North-East.
The hospital could also serve patients from neighbouring communities and populations across the Lake Chad region, potentially expanding access to specialist care beyond Borno’s borders.
Speaking at the commissioning, Vice President Shettima commended Zulum’s investments in healthcare and education, describing them as institutions capable of delivering lasting benefits beyond the administration that established them.
“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,” the Vice-President said.
He linked the hospital and the state’s education projects to the broader task of rebuilding Borno, arguing that recovery must translate into tangible improvements in public services.
“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,” Shettima said.
The Vice-President also commissioned Yerwa Practice Mega Primary School and another mega primary school delivered under the Kashim Shettima Free Education Programme, which provides free education to orphans and vulnerable children.
The hospital’s long-term impact will depend on sustained funding, adequate staffing, reliable power and water supplies, equipment maintenance and affordable access to specialist services.
While its commissioning marks a major addition to Borno’s healthcare infrastructure, translating that investment into reduced medical travel and better health outcomes will require consistent service delivery and effective management.
