National Lottery Trust Fund empowers Edo Healthcare centres with medical equipment

The National Lottery Trust Fund has distributed medical equipment worth millions of naira to two healthcare centres in Edo State.

The healthcare centres located at Usen general hospital in Ovia South-west Local Government Area, and Ogbesse maternity in Ovia North-east LGA were geared towards improving the healthcare delivery in the locality.

Bello Maigari, executive secretary/ceo National Lottery Trust Fund, who presented the medical items to the management of both hospitals, said the medical equipment would complement the efforts of the State government to make a difference in saving lives by providing life-saving interventions to pregnant women and other residents of the communities.

Bello listed the equipment to include Phototherapy machine, delivery beds, blood banks, haematocrit centrifuges, defibrillators, infant incubators, baby cots, hospital beds and mattresses, Olympus, bucket cent, sonicaid, cardiotocography, suction machine, autoclave, among others.

Bello, who said the intervention is topical when Nigeria is dealing with the devastating effects of COVID-19, noted that the agency is committed to ensuring better healthcare delivery across the country.

“The target is to cover the entire 774 Local Government Areas across the nation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“I am here to re-affirm that our intervention will continue to be pursued in a broad, distinctive, integrative and inclusive manner across the country, whilst also ensuring that good causes offer long-term value to society and give good value for lottery money.

“Let me reassure you that NLTF has put in place a robust and comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation system to help the agency track the progress of its intervention programmes, and in particular, the utilisation of these facilities in this hospital,” he said.

He, however, solicited support from stakeholders in the health sector in raising awareness on the value of lottery funding to modern life and its transformational legacy to the nation.

Earlier, Edwin Ajah, zonal coordinator, National Lottery Trust Fund South-south zone, said the intervention would help those who cannot afford to pay for exorbitant fees in private hospitals to access vital services.

He noted that the agency is poised to change the lives of Nigerian citizens.

Speaking on behalf of the recipients, the medical director of Usen General Hospital, Solomon Aiguobasimwin, commended the agency for the donation, adding that the items would contribute significantly to healthcare delivery.