Alia has invested N20bn transforming Benue Teaching Hospital — CMD

The Chief Medical Director of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Dr Terungwa Stephen Hwande, says the Benue State Government has invested about N20 billion in upgrading the institution over the past three years, transforming it into a major referral centre for North Central Nigeria.

Speaking during a media tour of the hospital in Makurdi, Hwande said the investment by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration had expanded specialist healthcare services, upgraded infrastructure, increased manpower and enhanced the hospital’s capacity to receive patients from within and outside the state.

“To cut everything short, the investments the governor has done within these three years at the teaching hospital can be summarised to about N20 billion. That’s the take-home story,” Hwande said.

According to him, about N2 billion of the investment has been committed to the construction of a regional cancer centre that will provide specialised treatment for patients from Benue and neighbouring Taraba, Nasarawa and Kogi states, where such facilities are currently unavailable.

“There is no cancer centre in Taraba, Kogi or Nasarawa. When this centre is completed, it will serve the entire region,” he said.

Hwande said the hospital had also established a specialised physiotherapy and rehabilitation centre for children living with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness, speech disorders and other developmental conditions.

He added that BSUTH now operates a modern radiology complex equipped with a CT scan, fluoroscopy and mammography machines, alongside a molecular laboratory fitted with three PCR machines for diagnosing infectious diseases, including Lassa fever. The facility also has an isolation centre and dialysis services.

The CMD further disclosed that the hospital now runs one of Nigeria’s few state-owned comprehensive fertility centres, offering services such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), surrogacy, sperm and embryo banking, as well as sex selection.

“This is one of the few state teaching hospitals in Nigeria offering complete fertility services, including IVF, surrogacy, sperm banks, embryo banks and sex selection. While similar treatment costs between N4 million and N5 million in Abuja, ours is heavily subsidised at about N700,000,” he said.