The Kaduna State government and global corporate giant, General Electric have signed an agreement to equip 278 healthcare facilities across the state.
 
At a ceremony held to mark the commencement of the programme in the northern state, the President of GE Healthcare in charge of Africa, Farid Fezoua, said the essence was to create an innovative healthcare system that would reduce preventable child-maternal deaths in Kaduna State.
 
According to him, under the partnership, GE will equip 255 primary health centres with modern medical facilities along with 23 general hospitals across the state.
 
The company will also provide training for healthcare professionals and a three-year maintenance agreement for the equipment.
 
He said the training would cover technical and clinical skills while the equipment maintenance would be managed by strong local team of biomedical engineers.
 
Bringing the latest medical technologies to Kaduna, Mr Fezoua said the initiative would be implemented through a localised delivery model developed specifically for Kaduna State.
 
“The heart monitoring devices will address cardiovascular screening issues and improve the management of high blood pressure, cholesterol or high blood glucose. GE’s basic cardiac screening device connect hearts to digital ECG, helping clinicians test more patients in less time,” Mr Fezoua explained.
 
Mr Fezoua further told reporters that the scheme would include bringing four of the nine GE Healthcare technologies listed in the World Health Organizations Compendium of Innovative Technologies that will provide access to antenatal screenings, obstetric scanning, essential new born care, cardiac screening and anaesthesia.
 
The new multi-year partnership between the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and GE Healthcare is designed to expand primary and referral care services as well as building capacity at 255 primary healthcare centres and 23 secondary healthcare hospitals across the state.
 
Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who was represented at the event by his Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Dogo, said the partnership with GE would help to improve standards of maternal and infant care, implant safer surgical standards and raise the capacity for disease prevention and infection control.
 
“The Kaduna State Government is seeking better health outcomes for its people. This partnership with GE will accelerate the development of our health facilities and equip them to deliver better services.
 
“The equipment, technologies and training our state is getting under this partnership will help to improve standards of maternal and infant care, implant safer surgical standards and raise our capacity for disease prevention and infection control,” he told reporters.
 
“The multi-year partnership between Kaduna State and GE will increase access to essential technologies for better maternal and infant care, heart screenings to tackle the rise of cardiovascular illnesses and improved care during surgeries,”
 
Other stakeholders at the event, including representatives of UNICEF and Kaduna State House of Assembly, commended the gesture by GE in boosting qualitative healthcare for citizens of the state and the assurance of its support towards achieving the state’s healthcare objective.
 
Read more at https://www.channelstv.com/2016/11/18/kaduna-ge-sign-agreement-equip-hea...