Olusegun Abisoye
The Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF)–(Doctors
without borders) on Friday, handed over an ‘observation bay’ for Lassa Fever
patients to the Federal Teaching Hospital (FETHA) Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
The MSF Project Coordinator in Ebonyi, Miss Julia
Hills, said that the facility was provided to reduce the infection rate of
disease especially among the health workers.
Hills noted that the observation bay would assist
in reducing the high rate health workers contract the disease and other
haemorrhagic fever when providing care to suspected patients.
“It has facilities that will ensure thorough
observation of suspected patients and provide the needed isolation.
“The facility would also assist health workers to
provide adequate care and required services to suspected Lassa fever patients,”
she said.
She said that the MSF was concerned over the
fatality rate of the disease in the state especially among health workers in
the hospital.
“We are providing two of such facility in the
hospital and with the commendable collaboration of the hospital’s staff and
management, we hope to sustain the partnership,” she said.
Dr Emeka Ogah, FETHA Chief Medical Director said
that the facility worth millions of naira was one of the gains of the
partnership between the hospital and the MSF.
Ogah noted that the MSF would hand over another
observation bay bigger than the one being handed-over.
“This is for the service of men and women who will
present suspected cases of Lassa Fever as we are lucky to have a partnership
with MSF.
“This partnership will last for the initial four
years and by God’s grace, may be extended beyond that,” he said.
The CMD noted that aside the provision of the bay,
the MSF constructed an incinerator, redistributed chlorinated water to the
Lassa Fever virology centre at the hospital and provided a building for laundry
services.
“The MSF has also donated large quantities of
consumables, trained and re-trained over 200 staff of the hospital and has
concluded plans to pay the bills of patients who suffer from Lassa Fever,” he
said.
He noted that the samples of suspected lassa fever
cases were no longer taken to Irrua specialist hospital in Edo due to the
provision of the virology centre at the hospital by the Ebonyi government.
“The virology centre, in spite of these success
stories, is still faced with challenges which include lack of space, inadequate
electricity supply, human resources, steady supply of reagents for diagnosis,
labour ward, theatre,” he said.
Alhaji Ahmed Ramalan, Chairman of FETHA Board of
Directors, commended the FETHA management for its proactive approach to
administration, noting that such had attracted lots of successes to the
hospital.
“This characteristic enabled the hospital to keep
pace with the MSF team and together, they have contained the lassa fever menace
in record time,” he said.
Dr Daniel Umezurike, Commissioner for Health in
Ebonyi noted that the state government provided the virology centre at the
hospital due to its desire to check incidences of Lassa Fever and other
hemorrhagic fever.
“The centre serves the entire south east zone and
beyond as the fatalities recorded in time wastage while taking samples to
Irrua, have been eliminated,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
goodwill messages were delivered on the occasion by the World Health
Organisation (WHO), Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease
Control.
