By Dan Sule, Jalingo
Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas has pledged to donate an ambulance and a Hilux vehicle to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Jalingo, to strengthen emergency response and support hospital operations.
Kefas made the pledge on Saturday during a familiarisation visit to the hospital, where he was accompanied by Health and Social Welfare Minister Ali Pate, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and other senior government and party officials.
Speaking at the office of the hospital’s Medical Director, Chubado Tahir, Pate commended Tahir for what he described as significant achievements during his two years as the hospital’s pioneer medical director.
Pate said efforts to establish the hospital’s permanent site would soon yield results and thanked Kefas for supporting the facility.
He said the pledged ambulance and Hilux vehicle would help improve healthcare delivery to residents.
Tahir earlier thanked the governor for his support and outlined several challenges facing the hospital, including the lack of an ambulance and call-to-duty vehicle, inadequate theatre facilities and an unreliable power supply.
He also acknowledged the governor’s allocation of additional land to the hospital, alongside land previously designated for the construction of its permanent site.
The visit ended with the cutting of a birthday cake organised by the hospital management to mark Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.