Mr. Thomas Etuh, Chairman of Jennifer Etuh Foundation says it was the wish of his wife, Mrs Jennifer Etuh (of blessed memory), to bridge the gap between Nigeria’s largely non- functional Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) and the very few functional ones.
The philanthropic Jennifer Etuh, before her death on 20th January, 2020, had expressed concern that out of Nigeria’s 30,000 PHCs, only 20 percent were functional, wondering why certain levels of medical care was accessible only to the wealthy who could afford to pay for such services or travel abroad.
She was also concerned that the good hospitals within the country are located in only cities, with little thought given to the health care needs of poor and rural communities.
It is for this reason, said Mr Etu, that the Foundation, built the Jennifer Etuh Medical Centre, in rural Tula community of Kaltungo LGA of Gombe State in memory of his wife, Mrs Jennifer Ramatu Etuh.
The Foundation has already built and commissioned four of such facilities in Odu, Ogboyega, Dekina LGA of Kogi State for the North Central Nigeria, Mallagum, Kagoro, Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria and in Ifewara, Osun State, Southwest Nigeria including that of Tula, Gombe State which serves the Northeast.
It has plans to commission the hospitals in Imo State for the Southeast and Cross River State for the South-South regions which are currently under construction.
He stated this at the Commissioning of the Tula Hospital where prominent Nigerians including the state governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, his deputy and many traditional rulers in the state were present.
Also present were the immediate past Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, renown preacher, Pastor Serah Omakwu among many other clergy men and politicians.
Mr Etuh said, on the 10th of July, 2023, the fourth Medical Centre in Tula, Gombe State, was being commissioned because it is his wife’s posthumous 49th birthday. The medical centres were commissioned alongside, skills acquisition centres.
In his address, Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, restated his administration’s commitment to partner organisations, institutions in its quest to deliver quality, affordable healthcare to its citizenry.
He noted that the inauguration of the state-of-the- art medical facility and modern diagnostic centre in Tula, is a significant step towards achieving this goal.
According to him, aside from its intervention in health, the Jennifer Etuh Foundation is equally into support for agricultural activities to boost food sufficiency and security.
While promising to construct a road to link the health facility, the governor used the occasion to call on the leaders and members of Tula community to fully assume ownership of the health center by ensuring its adequate maintenance.
On his part, the Mai Tula, Dr. Abubakar Atare Buba described the establishment of the medical center as a dream come true for the people of his domain. The traditional ruler, who thanked Governor Inuwa Yahaya for providing the hospital with a new ambulance and directing GoHealth to partner with the medical center, appealed to him to consider providing a mortuary and establishing a mini campus of the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Tula to provide more opportunities for the people of the area.
