The North First Geriatrics Hospital Ward

The first ever customised and dedicated geriatrics ward in any tertiary healthcare institution in the 19 northern states was commissioned at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, on August 13, 2024.

The 25-bed multi-million Naira facility is named Hajiya Ruƙayya Hassan Geriatrics Ward, in honour of the mother of Alhaji Shazali Hassan, the philanthropist who built, equipped, furnished and donated the Ward to the teaching hospital. It is exclusively dedicated to caring for older citizens suffering from geriatric illnesses.

An abridged dictionary definition says, “Geriatrics is the medical specialty dedicated exclusively to providing care for older adults. Older adults have a unique set of issues and concerns which geriatric clinicians are trained to focus upon.”

A corps of Consultants and supporting healthcare providers has been running geriatrics specialty clinics thrice a week at the AKTH for sometime. Their skills were sharpened in training sessions at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).

It is pertinent to state that while the Ward dedicated to Geriatrics care at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, is the first of its kind in the North, the Chief Tony Anenih Geriatric Centre (CTAGC), at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, is the pioneer Geriatric Centre in Nigeria, if not Africa. The Centre was donated by Chief Tony Anenih, a former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Centre was commissioned on November 17th, 2012, by then Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu.

There are many private and public geriatric centres in the South West, including that of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), but fewer elsewhere in Nigeria. 

The National Hospital in Abuja provides limited geriatric care services to patients. but not as elaborately as at the AKTH, Kano. The number of geriatric patients attending the AKTH clinics is huge. 

An estimated seven million Nigerians aged 65 and above suffer from many geriatric diseases, the most common being arthritis, cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, hypertension and stroke. 

The News Agency of Nigeria reported in September 2019 that the federal government plans establishing six geriatric centres in tertiary hospitals in the six geopolitical zones to care for the growing number of seniors in the country.

So far the federal government has enacted a law in 2017 establishing the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC). The government-funded agency is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

Its establishment Act mandated it “to identify (and meet) the needs of senior citizens in Nigeria. Its general goal is to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of Senior citizens in Nigeria.”

The Government-owned agency’s functions are hinged on the NSCC establishment Act 2017, the National Policy on Aging in Nigeria and the National Social Protection Policy.

The Director General of the NSCC said the Agency will establish 40 ageing desks in 40 Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs} in pursuit of its mandate of caring for senior citizens.

Nigeria is not alone in providing geriatrics care for the elderly in the world. US-based National Council On Aging (NCOA), advocates for improving the delivery of healthcare for older persons. It raises funds to assist older persons in need of medical care and advocates for policies that improve the well-being of seniors.

An entry at the website of US-based Eden Prairie Professionals in Aging (EPPIA) identified four pillars for successful aging namely brain fitness, physical fitness, nutrition/dining experience and social/spiritual engagement. 

It is a source of solace that, just like in the United States and elsewhere in the world, there are several non-governmental organizations in Nigeria, like  the Yemi Age Nigeria Foundation, which are focused on raising resources for the aged and providing relief for them through various interventions.

Salisu Na’inna Dambatta is an advocate for healthcare journalism