The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has inaugurated a state-of-the-art medical laboratory at the Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital
By Desmond Ejibas
The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has inaugurated a state-of-the-art medical laboratory at the Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi.
The initiative forms part of NLNG’s Hospital Support Programme (HSP), which seeks to improve healthcare access across the country.
NLNG’s Managing Director, Dr Philip Mshelbila, inaugurated the project, according to a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday by the company’s Manager of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Mrs Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku.
Mshelbila, who was represented by Mrs Sophia Horsfall, General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development at NLNG, expressed the company’s passion for improving healthcare infrastructure to benefit more Nigerians.
He stated that the project formed part of the company’s commitment to providing facilities that would significantly enhance diagnostic capacity and provide better support to both clinicians and patients.
“The HSP initiative reinforces our belief in what is possible when private enterprise and public good align with purpose,” he said.
Mshelbila added that NLNG was currently building a network of healthcare facilities across the country through the HSP.
“The programme has transformed medical services in all the beneficiary institutions, boosting the confidence of medical practitioners and raising public hope for improved healthcare.
“We are delighted that Bauchi State partnered with NLNG, giving us the opportunity to actualise the company’s vision of improving lives sustainably through the provision of healthcare infrastructure,” he added.
The NLNG managing director said that the company remains at the forefront of private sector contributions to healthcare delivery in Nigeria, investing in energy, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Speaking, Prof. Yusuf Jibrin, Chief medical Officer of ATBUTH, highlighted the pressing need for Nigeria to have advanced diagnostic centres to address the rising incidences of Lassa fever, antibiotic resistance, and cancer.
He described the newly completed laboratory as a fortress equipped with the tools, technologies, and manpower to detect, analyse, and inform timely medical interventions.
“We commend NLNG for going beyond the bounds of corporate social responsibility to provide this facility for the benefit of humanity,” he said.
Jibrin said that the management of the hospital had set up a maintenance and operations framework to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state-of-the-art laboratory.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NLNG, through the HSP initiative, donated similar healthcare facilities to about 10 health institutions across Nigeria.
The company has provided healthcare infrastructure for obstetrics, neonatal intensive care, occupational therapy, and neuromodulation rehabilitation, among others. (NAN)