Boko Haram: VSF Splashes N140m On Seven Hospitals

BEVERLY HILLS, August 05, (THEWILL) – A whopping N140million was splashed by the Nigeria Foundation for the Support of Victims of Terrorism (VSF) on seven hospitals in the Northeast, Wednesday, to subsidise the medical bills of victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

The benefitting hospitals include the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH); Specialist Hospital Maiduguri; Specialist Hospital Damaturu; Federal Medical Centre Gombe; Specialist Hospital Gombe; Federal Medical Centre Yola and Specialist Hospital Yola.

Two of the hospitals, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and Specialist Hospital Maiduguri, both in Borno State, got N20 million each.

The Executive Director of the Foundation, Prof. Sunday Ochoche, while presenting the cheques to the two hospitals at separate occasions in Maiduguri, said the assistance was to help offset part of the costs of treatment of the victims of the over five-year-old insurgency in the area.

Explaining that no single organisation could meet the huge requirements of the region following the insurgency, Ochoche said the region really needs the help of all Nigerians.

While signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the two institutions, Ochoche said the Victims Support Fund has realised that something must be done urgently to help in offsetting part of the rising medical bills of the victims of the insurgency.

Explaining that the N20 million donation to each of the two hospitals was just a widow's mite, he said: “We just want to show that we are with them,” adding “It is not the final support to the hospitals.”

The Permanent Secretary, Borno State Ministry of Health, Alhaji Ahmed Sanda, who received the cheque on behalf of Specialist Hospital , Maiduguri and the Chief Medical Director of the UMTH, Professor AbdulRahman Tahir, who collected the N20 million cheque for his hospital, expressed gratitude to the foundation, saying much has been incurred in treating the victims of the insurgency even as they asked for more assistance.

Tahir, who noted that some of his institution’s facilities have broken down because they have been overstretched, said over N150 million had been incurred in the treatment of the victims by the UMTH .