The Federal Government has inaugurated a fertility centre and en-suite maternity complex at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), expanding access to specialised reproductive healthcare in the North-East.
Speaking during the commissioning in Maiduguri on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, said the facilities were delivered by the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) to reduce the need for couples to travel to Lagos, Abuja or abroad for fertility treatment.
Ahmadu said the intervention would address a critical gap in reproductive healthcare and bring specialised services closer to families in the region.
According to him, the projects align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to expand access to quality healthcare.
“For couples who previously had to leave the North-East to seek fertility treatment, the new centre offers more than modern equipment. It brings specialised care closer to home and gives families another opportunity to pursue parenthood without the burden of long-distance travel,” he said.
The Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, commended NEDC for its intervention at UMTH and other development institutions across the region.
Zulum noted that the teaching hospital had remained steadfast in saving lives, training medical professionals and providing essential specialist services despite years of insurgency and flooding in the state.
“We are optimistic that the newly commissioned projects will enhance the quality of healthcare services and further strengthen the hospital’s position as a centre of excellence,” Zulum said.
The NEDC Managing Director, Mohammed Goni Alkali, said the commission had equipped the fertility centre with an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) machine, incubators, oxygen concentrators and modern laboratory equipment.
He said NEDC had also installed solar power to ensure uninterrupted service delivery and funded specialised training for health workers to operate the equipment.
“The facility is one of the few public fertility centres in the North-East. For years, couples abandoned treatment because they could not afford travel and accommodation,” Alkali said.
He said the commission had rehabilitated critical infrastructure at UMTH and provided major diagnostic equipment, including MRI, CT scan and dialysis machines.
Alkali added that NEDC had procured eight MRI machines for the region and deployed ophthalmic equipment worth ₦3 billion to the Maiduguri Eye and Dental Hospital.
The UMTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, said the new facilities would reduce the cost and distance for couples seeking assisted reproductive services.
He commended President Tinubu, the Ministry of Regional Development and NEDC for the intervention, saying it would strengthen specialist healthcare delivery at the hospital.