… Kick-starts teaching hospitals support programme
By: Felix Ikpotor
As part of its corporate social responsibilities, the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) for the provision of a multi-million naira Infectious Diseases Unit to support robust healthcare delivery in Rivers State.
This is even as the company has signed and MoU with six other teaching hospitals as part of its hospitals support programme.
At a signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the hospital’s management, NLNG’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Philip Mshelbila, represented by General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mr. Andy Odeh, said NLNG was committed to supporting healthcare delivery in Rivers State as part of the pursuit of its vision of “helping to build a better Nigeria.”
He stated that the company was seeking to support the development of the tertiary health institution to provide excellent medical care for Rivers State residents while also catering to the training needs of medical students and resident doctors.
Odeh stated further that NLNG was committed to working with partners to transform healthcare delivery in the state, adding that the intervention at RSUTH was a manifestation of the company’s resolve to stand with the people of Rivers State and to reciprocate the goodwill and support to the company over the years.
The RSUTH project is an addition to several projects being executed by the company in the healthcare sector in Rivers State.
A statement by the company explained that The six hospitals were selected as part of the first phase of the NLNG HSP. The NLNG HSP targets 12 hospitals from the six geographical zones in the country.
The teaching hospitals in Phase 1 include Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos; University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada; Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano; University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin; University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar; and Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Yenagoa. The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NLNG, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, signed the MoUs on behalf of the Company with the hospitals.
The statement added that Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health; Deputy Managing Director, NLNG, Engr. Sadeeq Mai-Bornu, members of NLNG’s Extended Management Team and officials of health agencies in the country witnessed the signing of the MoU at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Dr. Mshelbila said the Hospital Support Programme was the Company’s response to the pressure on the medical sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. He stated that NLNG and its partners in the project would significantly impact the healthcare system in the country by improving the fitness status of the beneficiary medical facilities.
The NLNG Hospital Support Programme (HSP) is the second part of NLNG’s national Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The first part was the University Support Programme (USP) for construction/rehabilitation of modern engineering laboratories, equipped with cutting-edge equipment in six universities, namely the University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, University of Port-Harcourt, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The USP project has since been completed.
NLNG is owned by four shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (49%), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6%), TotalEnergies Gaz & Electricite Holdings (15%), and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr. l (10.4%).
