AS part of his one official campaign visit to Gombe State, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Monday inaugurated a Snakebite Treatment and Research Hospital in Kaltungo established by the State Government to bring succour to victims of snakebites that is rampant in the area.
While speaking at the occasion, an elated Yakubu Dogara said that the hospital would provide relief to the people of the area in particular and the state as a whole just as he pointed out that it would also serve as a treatment centre for all Nigerians within and outside the state who are victims of snakebites.
The Speaker who added that the people would now have every cause to live without fear in their environment lauded the initiative of the Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo for the gesture, declaring that not too many Governors would do what he has done for the good of his people.
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Earlier, Gombe State Commissioner of Health, Mr Kennedy Ishaya, said the 250-beds capacity hospital already had 120 beds in it explaining that, “The facility has 120 beds now and a capacity of 250 beds. Spectacular about this hospital is that it also has a maternity ward.”
The Health Commissioner added that “The hospital has a ward for pregnant women who are victims of snake bite; so we can take labour in the hospital. There is a provision to rear animals with the view of trying to produce anti-snake venom.”
Kennedy Ishaya further explained that “The hospital extends to about 2km and has a depth of 700 metres for the purpose of producing the venom to treat snakebites” boasting that the hospital is the first in Northern Nigeria that can provide free and comprehensive treatment to victims of snake bite.
Kaltungo and its surrounding are known for notorious snakebites, a development that has made the people of the area remain incapacitated over the years and live most difficult for them considering the agrarian nature of the area.
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