Professor Adewole, Health Minister

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Unabated medical tourism to hospitals in foreign countries has been blamed on lack of financial resources and requisite equipment.

The Chief Medical Director of University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof. Darlington Obaseki, disclosed this Monday in Benin, at a press briefing to announce activities lined up for the hospital’s inaugural Founders’ Day celebration.

He said “most people go outside the country to access healthcare that we should ordinary be providing. The reason is not because of lack of manpower.

“We have personnel that have been trained outside the country to do open heart surgery. We also have neurologists to do renal transplant among others . We have the skilled manpower that we need but the challenge is the lack of fund and equipment. That is what is resulting to this endowment

“As we speak, we don’t have Computed Tomography (SCAN) machine. The only CT scan machine we have is the first generation type. The cost of a first grade CT scan machine is about N150 million. We don’t have such money. We don’t also have  Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. The cost is about $1 million which is about N350 million.”

Prof. Obaseki however explained that the hospital had broken several medical feats, including stem cell transplant, invitro-fertilization among others.

He also announced that a woman was delivered of ovarian pregnancy in the hospital, making it the 15th ovarian pregnancy to be delivered globally.

While appealing to members of the public to develop the culture of funding health institution through endowment, he noted that public healthcare is not a profitable venture.

The CMD poured encomiums on the founding father of UBTH, late Samuel Ogbemdia, who concerted the establishment of the hospital in 1969 when he was military administrator of the then Mid West region.

He also eulogized former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) and his wife, Victoria, who commissioned the hospital in 1973.