By Joy Odor Reportcircle News National Assembly Correspondent
A grim picture of Nigeria’s silent health warzones unfolded at the National Assembly as Professor Ayuba Dauda, Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Teaching Hospital Wukari, Taraba State, laid bare the crushing realities confronting his facility during the 2026 budget defence session before the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), chaired by Senator Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo (Rivers West).
Standing before Lawmakers, the CMD described a hospital battling infectious disease outbreaks, violent trauma emergencies, snake bites and cross-border patient influxes, all with limited budgetary support and delayed interventions.
Professor Dauda told Senators that the hospital’s geographical location, rather than being a simple advantage, had become a heavy burden.
“Our location gives us a peculiar advantage in manpower mobilisation,” he said, “but we are surrounded by four states, and being a teaching hospital, people naturally converge on the facility.”
The result, he explained, is a constant overflow of patients, stretching manpower, infrastructure and emergency capacity far beyond planned limits.
The CMD revealed that the hospital routinely manages high-risk infectious and haemorrhagic diseases, including Lassa fever, severe sugar-related complications and monkeypox.
“These are highly infectious diseases that require very equipped and isolated units,” he warned. “Managing them comes with enormous challenges.”
According to him, the complexity of such cases demands specialised manpower, strict isolation protocols and advanced equipment, all of which require funding that has not matched the reality on ground.
Beyond disease outbreaks, Professor Dauda painted a chilling picture of the hospital’s emergency rooms.
He disclosed that the hospital lies along a conflict-prone corridor, making it a first responder to community clashes, accidents and violent attacks.
“We receive a lot of emergency cases trauma, gunshot injuries,” he said. “Our accident and emergency unit is always filled with patients with these patterns of injury.”
Despite the mounting workload, the CMD said budgetary interventions have failed to keep pace with operational demands.
“The budget performance we are praying for in terms of intervention is not forthcoming to meet the reality we have on ground,” he told the committee.
He appealed directly to the Senate to step in, stressing that without urgent intervention, the hospital’s ability to deliver life-saving services would remain under severe strain.
On preparedness, Professor Dauda disclosed that the hospital has also become a key referral centre for snake bite management, supported through partnerships with non-governmental organisations and institutions in the North-East corridor, including areas such as Kaltungo, known for snake bite expertise.
“We have a well-equipped call centre and we store vaccines for snake bite management,” he said, adding that regional collaboration has helped ease pressure in that area.
When questioned by Senators on funding alternatives, the CMD admitted that financial survival now depends on improvisation.
He explained that the hospital:
Applies for interventions from multiple ministries
Seeks support from the North-East Development Commission
Writes repeatedly to the Ministry of Finance
Relies heavily on internally generated revenue (IGR)
“Whatever we generate as IGR, we recycle it to sustain services,” he said. “Funding remains a general challenge.”
As the session drew to a close, lawmakers acknowledged the weight of the revelations, with the Chair noting the need to align funding realities with frontline health demands, especially for institutions operating in volatile and high-risk regions.
Professor Dauda’s presentation ended not with statistics alone, but with a stark message: Nigeria’s health emergencies are no longer hypothetical and hospitals like his are already carrying the cost.
