Acting Consul General of United States Consulate, Lagos, Mr. Bill Bridgel weekend rated the newly launched Duchess International Hospital by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo high, saying it has put Nigeria on the world of cities healthcare map.

Pouring encomiums on the facilities and the highly professionals during a visit to the hospital he said: “This is lovely. It’s beyond my expectations, super impressive state-of-the art facilities and personnel. This is going to put Lagos on the world map.”

The U.S Acting Consul General who has been in Nigeria for just 15 months said he loves Nigeria because the people are friendly and vibrant and there is “so much going on, it is an interesting place”.

While conducting the tour, U.S Acting Consul General and his team, which included Dr. Toyin Adenaike, Physician U.S Consulate, Lagos , the Chief Executive Officer of the Duchess International Hospital, Dr. Adetokunbo Shitta Bey explained that the purpose-built 100-bed fully ensuite hospital facility provides primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services across a range of specialist and sub-speciality areas.

Shitta Bey said the Duchess International Hospital is uniquely positioned to solve the problem of access to affordable healthcare on behalf of local communities and reverse the trend of people travelling abroad for medical treatment.

The Duchess International Hospital is a wholly indigenous brand, firmly rooted in the needs and aspirations of the domestic populace and committed to providing access to high-quality affordable healthcare for residents of Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. The operation and management of the Duchess Hospital is supported by Apollo Hospitals, India to help ensure efficiency and quality assurance in the delivery of its services.

First Lady of Nigeria,  Mrs Aisha Buhari has urged stakeholders to work together to eliminate Tuberculosis in Nigeria. She made the call at the National TB Conference 2021 in Abuja. She said that despite TB being curable, some Nigerians still die from the disease.

Aisha also noted that with the help of governor’s wives, more awareness are being created on TB, particularly in the rural areas.

“These strategies are very important because we need to maintain a strong focus and attention towards fighting TB, the most infectious killer disease in the world”.  She said.

She particularly commended health workers for always responding to TB cases while giving kudos to ministry of health for stepping up response to TB.

She added that through the anti stigma programme more people are coming forward to report TB cases and access treatments, which will boost response.

The Nigerian minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said that TB is one of the older infectious diseases that the world including Nigeria have resolved to eliminate.

The minister said that it was expected that at the end of the three-day conference, enough evidence would have been gathered and new knowledge generated to help the Global TB control efforts reverse the negative impact of other diseases on TB control efforts.

The Acting Board Chairman, Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Dr. Ayodele Awe, said that the National TB Conference 2021, aims to galvanise action towards ending TB in Nigeria and across the world.

He said that participants at the three day conference would deliberate on the way forward for TB elimination.

The World Health Organization’s Country, KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria, NCDC, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme and other TB partners in Nigeria reaffirmed their commitment to ending TB in Nigeria.