ARMY CHIEF ASSURES WOUNDED SOLDIERS OF COMMITMENT TO THEIR TREATMENT

The Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya says Nigerian Army is committed to giving prompt attention to the medical needs of wounded officers and men at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna.

The Army Chief gave this assurance on Thursday while visiting wounded soldiers in the hospital. He expressed appreciation for their sacrifice to the nation, adding that the Army was doing everything possible, despite the challenges of the COVID- 19 pandemic, to provide them with adequate treatment in order to hasten their recovery.

He also disclosed that all arrangements have been concluded for personnel that require medical treatment abroad to be flown out, especially for those that need plastic surgery and prosthetics.

Lt Gen Yahaya further stated that arrangements are ongoing to build a state of the art facility in the hospital for the production of prosthetics for personnel who lost their lower limbs in service to the nation. He disclosed that the ongoing effort is in partnership with some foreign experts from Germany.

According to him, the partnership will not only hasten the provision of such artificial body parts, but also save the army the huge cost of moving the personnel abroad for treatment. He pointed out, that some of the delays being witnessed in actualising this partnership is as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

During a tour of the hospital wards, Lt. General Yahaya made token donations to all the in-patients to further boost their morale.

He was later given a brief by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Colonel Steven Onuchukwu on the achievements and challenges of the hospital. Responding, Lt. General Yahaya, expressed commitment to ensuring that the challenges of the hospital are adequately addressed to cater for the medical needs of personnel