Enugu State’s ongoing transformation in health system development received a major boost on Monday as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) donated vehicles, digital equipment, and essential training tools to the Enugu State Colleges of Nursing at Park Lane and Awgu.

The global organisations commended Governor Peter Mbah for his visionary and strategic investment in modernising health infrastructure, enhancing training capacity, and expanding human resources for the health workforce.

The donations included two 15-seater Toyota Hiace buses, two Mikano generators, 145 desktop computers, five suction machines, eight 3D electronic boards, 13 Sharp three-in-one photocopiers, and a wide range of laboratory, nursing, hostel, and training equipment designed to strengthen learning and service delivery across the institutions.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at Government House, Enugu, the WHO Country Director and Head of Mission in Nigeria, Dr. Pavel Ursu, said the gesture followed a detailed infrastructure readiness assessment conducted in partnership with the Enugu State Government under the Equipment Support for Health Training Institutions (ESHTI) initiative.

Dr. Ursu commended Governor Mbah’s groundbreaking reforms in the health sector, noting massive primary healthcare revitalisation, ongoing construction of 260 Type 2 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), facility solarisation programmes, and the establishment of the upcoming quaternary Enugu International Hospital—envisioned as a future medical tourism hub.

He also highlighted the administration’s digital transformation efforts, including the digitisation of PHC and secondary health facilities, deployment of internet-enabled tablets to more than 360 health centres, and integration of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) supported by real-time data dashboards for operations and patient management.

“These efforts will drastically reduce patient wait times, improve quality of care, and strengthen evidence-based healthcare delivery,” he stated.

In his remarks, FCDO Nigeria Health Advisor and representative, Dr. Ebere Anyachukwu, applauded Mbah’s strategic vision and commitment to advancing health outcomes in Enugu State.

“We are proud to support and partner with Enugu State and WHO in this intervention, and we trust that these tools will significantly boost the quantity, quality, and performance of the state’s health workforce,” he said.

Governor Mbah, while expressing deep gratitude to WHO and FCDO, described the donation as timely and aligned with his administration’s goal of growing the state’s economy sevenfold and eradicating poverty through improved human capital and access to quality healthcare.

“A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. These donations are fit for purpose and come at a time when we are targeting the training of at least 3,000 healthcare professionals annually,” the governor said.

He further assured that his administration would continue to invest in health infrastructure, noting plans to construct new hostels and classrooms across the nursing campuses, including Oji River, and the completion of two six-floor blocks at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital to deliver world-class medical services.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Matters, Dr. Yomi Jaye, described the donation as a strong endorsement of the administration’s reforms, recalling that the nursing training institutions were on the verge of losing accreditation before the Mbah government’s intervention.

The event marked yet another milestone in Enugu’s steady march toward developing a resilient, future-ready health system capable of supporting economic growth and ensuring better outcomes for all residents.