By Desmond Ejibas
Port Harcourt – Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited has donated seven multimillion-naira medical equipment and drugs to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH).
The items donated include four VG70 Aeonmed ventilators, a laser therapy machine, an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a 7A-233D electronic suction apparatus, as well as an assortment of seed stock drugs.
Mr Igo Weli, General Manager, Relations and Sustainable Development of the company, made the donation during a brief ceremony in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Weli explained that the donation forms part of the company’s commitment to strengthening healthcare delivery in Rivers, particularly in communities where it operates.
He noted that the RSUTH’s ICU, despite having a nine-bed capacity, currently functions with only a few operational ventilators – an inadequacy that hinders its ability to serve the large patient population.
“The demand for critical care has far outpaced the hospital’s equipment capacity, often forcing clinicians to make difficult choices on which patient receives ventilation support,” he said.
Weli stated that Renaissance acted following a request from the hospital’s management for a laser therapy machine and other ICU-related equipment.
According to him, the company, in partnership with its Joint Venture (JV) partners, NNPCL, Total Energies, and Eni, responded by expanding the scope of their support.
“The donated ventilators were originally acquired and set up as part of the company’s COVID-19 response but had remained unused.
“We deemed it both necessary and impactful to donate them to a facility where they can actively contribute to saving lives, rather than allowing them to remain idle and depreciate.
“The initiative is expected to alleviate the strain on the hospital’s ICU, enhance critical care services and ensure that no patient is denied essential life-support equipment,” Weli added.
The general manager also announced the donation of a multimillion-naira consignment of medications to support the drug revolving fund at RSUTH’s community-linked health facility.
He stated that the supply of thousands of essential medications aimed to address the chronic ‘out-of-stock’ syndrome that plagued many healthcare centres in the country.
Weli further urged proper maintenance of the equipment to guarantee its sustained usage in patient care and diagnosis.
Receiving the medical kits, Prof. Chizindu Alikor, Chief Medical Director (CMD) of RSUTH, expressed gratitude to Renaissance and its JV partners for their timely intervention.
He noted that the Rivers Government had already made considerable investments in the hospital, including expanding its capacity from 300 beds to about 500 beds over the past 18 months.
Alikor said that although the RSUTH ICU was formally opened to the public in September 2023, the rising number of emergency cases had stretched the facility beyond its limits.
“We are delighted by Renaissance’s donation of several medical equipment and supplies to strengthen our capacity to provide quality healthcare to the people of Rivers State,” he said.
The chief medical director assured that the newly donated medical equipment would be used effectively and maintained for the benefit of patients.
Also speaking, Dr Mekele Igwe, Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, commended Renaissance for its support to the teaching hospital and expressed confidence that the equipment would be optimally utilised.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in March, Renaissance finalised the acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, thereby ending Shell’s onshore operations in Nigeria. (NAN)
