TheCable

The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) has announced donation of multimillion naira state-of-art equipment and a fully equipped emergency ambulance to the paediatric unit of the Gwarimpa General Hospital, Abuja.

The organisation said the donation of the medical equipment worth over N60 million is part of its health systems support initiative.

ASR Africa also announced that it will adopt the neonatal unit of the hospital under the initiative.

It added that a sum of N500,000 will be provided towards a fund being setup to assist indigent patients in accessing quality healthcare at the hospital.

While presenting the ambulance and health systems support grant to the management of the hospital, Ubon Udoh, the managing director of ASR Africa, said the project shows the commitment of Rabiu, who doubles as both founder of ASR Africa and chairman of BUA group, to social development in the country.

“The initiative to support the Paediatric Unit of the Hospital is a practical example of the commitment to social development by BUA Group as an organization, and Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu as an individual,” he said.

“It is a practical show of his commitment to continue to provide sustainable solutions to development problems across the continent – especially those that impact women and children.

“We are donating medical equipment to the neonatal unit worth over N60 million. We have taken a tour of the facilities and we are replacing all the equipment in the neonatal unit. We are also replacing some of the other equipment required in the broader paediatric unit.

“We also know that the hospital serves a huge population and there are a lot of indigent patients that come here. So, part of the discussion we are having is to open a small fund where indigent patients can be catered for.

“We will work with the hospital’s social welfare team to provide ASR Africa with those who can be screened, whilst developing criteria for selecting beneficiaries.”

In his remarks, Isyaku Musa, the chief medical director of Gwarimpa General Hospital, thanked Rabiu for the gesture which he described as worthy of emulation.

He assured that the equipment will be taken care of and put to good use.

ASR Africa was established in March 2021 with an annual fund of $100 million dedicated to solving development issues in the areas of health, education and social development on the African continent — $50 million is allocated to Nigeria and the rest to other countries.

In May, ASR Africa announced the donation of N5 billion grant to support health and social development in Akwa Ibom state.

Earlier in the month, the initiative donated a N2.5 billion oncology and diagnostic centre to the Kwara state government.