UBTH, Heineken African Foundation partner to improve  neo-natal care

• Commission N42m hi-tech equipment for Special Care Baby Unit

L-R: UBTH Director of Administration, Mr. M.O. Kadiri, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Stanley Okugbo, Chiefd Medical director, Prof. Darlington Obaseki, Corporate Affairs manager, West, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Danjuma John-Ekele and Brewery Medical Doctor, Dr. Emeka Ofulue at the commissioning.

Advanced neonatal care equipment worth N42 million have been handed over to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) by the Heineken African Foundation as part of efforts by the hospital to improve its neonatal care and drastically reduce the country’s high infant mortality.

Commissioning the equipment at the hospital recently, UBTH Medical Director, Prof. Darlington Obaseki who observed that there are very few well-equipped neonatal care centres in Nigeria said the new equipment would enhance the hospital’s capacity to provide specialized care for neonates as it is the only facility in the South-South of Nigeria with such capacity.

He commended Heineken African Foundation for its timely execution of a memorandum of understanding signed with the hospital last year, saying the donation has placed UBTH at a vantage position to  help  reduce  neonatal mortality rate in the country, especially in the hospital’s immediate environment. He assured the foundation that the equipment would be put into proper use.

Handing over the equipment to the hospital, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Breweries PLC, Mr Hans Essaadi, represented by the company’s Corporate Affairs Manager, West, Mr. Danjuma John-Ekele, disclosed that the target of the Heineken African Foundation is  to contribute its quota  towards the reduction of neonatal mortality in Nigeria’s health institutions, including UBTH.

“We hope that this facility would be of immense benefit to parents who are deeply concerned about the fate of their kids,” he said adding that the Foundation had over the years,  built a strong expertise on Mother & Child Care.

“The first day of life of a newborn is the riskiest in resource-constrained settings and statistically, it is recorded that up to 50% of babies die within the first 28 days of life (neonatal period), while 75% die within the first week of life. The Heineken Africa Foundation believes in Africa and the potential of its people. We also believe that everybody deserves to live a healthy life through good quality healthcare.”

Essaadi  commended UBTH for its quality services saying the hospital, as a Centre of Excellence  has remarkably and effectively served as the last port of call for expert management of diverse and varied disease conditions in the region.

“We are proud to be associated with such a great institution, “ he said.

Some of the equipment commissioned at the event include:  a Ventilator Humidifier, 5 Neonatal Tubing Ventilator,1  Bubble CPAP with stand, 5  Nasal Mask, 5 Nasal prongs, 5 Infant head bonnet, 5 Flexi-trunk and 5 Cpap circuit.