By Eyo Charles, Calabar
The Colleges of Nursing Sciences in Calabar, Obudu and Ogoja in Cross River State have received donations of three 18-seater buses, medical consumables, ICT, safety, furniture, generators, solar powered inverters and several other office equipment.
These resources worth £3.8 million were donated by the World Health Organisation, WHO, with supports from Equipment Support for Health Training Institutions (ESHTI) in the United Kingdom.
The WHO Country Representative and Head of Mission in Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursula in company of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, handed over the buses and equipment to Governor Bassey Otu who was represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Odey.
The ceremony was held at the Calabar International Conference Centre, venue of the 2025 National Council on Health summit.
Presenting the resources, Dr. Ursu said they were vital equipment that will benefit the health training institutions, directly impacting over 900 students and faculty members.
He believed that the donations and upgrades are expected to improve training outcomes, increase graduation rates, and better prepare healthcare professionals for service delivery in and outside the state.
“This initiative is part of the Equipment Support for Health Training Institutions (ESHTI) programme. It is aimed at enhancing the quality of nursing and midwifery education and strengthen Nigeria’s health workforce”, Ursu said.
Also speaking,, head of human development and demography at the British High Commission, Jill Fletcher said, “We are proud of the results achieved through the ESHTI programme to build health workforce capacity. It is the UK’s pleasure to hand over a range of equipment and training materials to Cross River State to continue efforts to produce a skilled and motivated health workforce.”
Receiving the resources, deputy governor, Dr Peter Odey commended the partners for their deep consideration of the state for such job enhancing equipment.
He stated that the state was very committed in its interventions in the health sector, especially in the training institutions where serious attention is paid to the students.
He assured the donors and partners that all the equipment and other resources would be frugally applied in order to elongate their lifespans.
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