GlaxoSmith Kline (GSK), in collaboration with Save the Children, has donated N20 million worth of Medical Oxygen facilities to Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital, Jigawa State.

The donation was presented to the hospital through ‘Inspiring project,’ under which Save the Children is championing a campaign against pneumonia in Jigawa State and some other parts of the country.

In his speech at the handing over of the equipment to the hospital management, the country director, Save the Children, who was represented by chief party, Inspiring, Dr Adamu Isah said, the donation is aimed at improving access to medical oxygen, particularly in this period of Covid-19 pandemic, which increases demand for the services.

According to him, the provision of medical oxygen will help in reducing the number of children dying from pneumonia and other related ailments.

“A recent study (by Graham 2020) revealed that out of 12 Nigerian hospitals, only five had oxygen available in pediatric wards, and just one used pulse oximetry for pediatric care.

“In view of this, we considered equipping the hospital with medical oxygen as the critical step in addressing Hypoxemia (a clinical condition of inadequate oxygen concentration in the blood), a common sign of Pneumonia, which is the leading infectious killer of children under-5.”

Receiving the donation on behalf of Jigawa State government, the secretary to the state government, Alhaji Abdulkadir Adamu Fanini, expressed gratitude to the two organisations, GSK and Save the Children, for the gesture.

He added that, the gesture would complement the effort of the state government towards reducing rate of maternal and child death, as well as, ensuring effective public healthcare service delivery.

TodayNG