IMAN seeks land to build hospital in Bauchi

The Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN) has within the weekend appealed to the Bauchi state government to allocate it a piece of land in the state to establish a hospital towards contributing its quota to health care delivery in the state.

The National President of the IMAN, Dr. Salisu Isma’il said that the association has rented an apartment which it is now renovating in order to meet the desired goal.

“I will like to call on the Bauchi state government under the leadership of Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar to support this project including the allocation of land where IMAN Bauchi state will establish a permanent site of the hospital”, he said.

Dr. Isma’il, who was speaking at the 18th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference tagged “Bauchi 2017” of the association, also disclosed that IMAN want to establish a training institution which will go a long way in improving health care indices of the state.

“I also urge the Bauchi Emirate Council as well as Zakkah Commission to support this initiative by assisting patients who are roaming about in the street, and to collaborate with IMAN in providing assistance to them”, Ismail pleaded.

He told the meeting with the theme “Healthcare Challenges of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that the topic was chosen to highlight problems of IDPs who were innocently forced to leave their destinations and separated from their families as a result of internal crises.

Dr. Isma’il said the objectives of the Association was to create unity among Muslim Medical/Health Professionals in Nigeria, enhanced better understanding of health care within the framework of Islam and improve Islamic awareness/knowledge of Muslim health professionals.
Others are to introduce Islamic values within health care education especially in patient care, promote research and publication in the field of Islamic Medical ethics, and educate the general public on health related issues, among others.

Governor Mohammed Abubakar in his message at the occasion, stated
that Bauchi state has been a host for IDPs as far back as in the 90s following crisis in neighbouring states of Adamawa, Plateau, Yobe and Borno because of its relative peace and hospitality.

The governor who was represented by the state health commissioner, Dr. Halima Mukaddas, expressed confidence that at the end of the AGM, participants will not only achieve some spiritual rejuvenation, but also the tastes of Bauchi.

The chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Muhammad Baba Ahmad noted that the burden of IDPs is a global phenomenon that has shaken virtually all parts of the World and revealed the vulnerability of countries to the social problems regardless of their development or economic strength.

Ahmad, also the Amir Akko said that Nigeria ranked the 3rd on global scale of IDPs with 3.3 million due to insurgency and communal clashes, after Syria that ranked the first with 6.5 million IDPs and Columbia with 5.7 million.

He expressed regret that IDPs crises in the North East Sub-region has exposed the country’s weakness as a nation as, according to him, the handling of the IDPs is far below expectation.

Another aspect of the problem, he stated, is the needs of the IDPs where 69per cent of them still do not have access to adequate food, in addition to lack of shelter, medical services, water sanitation and hygiene, and security among others.