NNPC installs MRI machine at Anambra teaching hospital, targets south-east healthcare gap

By Tofunmi Great 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has commissioned and handed over a 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging system to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in Nnewi, Anambra State, in a move the company says will significantly expand diagnostic capacity across Nigeria’s South-East geopolitical zone.

The handover, conducted on Friday at the Igwe Orizu ICT Centre on the NAUTH permanent site, was presided over by NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bashir Ojulari and witnessed by traditional rulers, state government officials, and representatives from South-East teaching hospitals. The equipment was procured and installed through the NNPC Foundation, the company’s corporate social responsibility arm.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ojulari described the installation as part of a broader national drive to modernise diagnostic services at public health institutions. “The installation of a 1.5 Tesla GE MRI system in a public health institution such as NAUTH is a testament to what we do in corporate social responsibility, in addition to managing vast crude oil and gas resources in trust for more than 200 million Nigerians,” he said.

The GCEO added that thousands of residents across Anambra State and the wider South-East region would benefit directly from the intervention, reducing the burden on patients who currently travel long distances to access specialised imaging services.

He also referenced recent prior investments, including the rehabilitation and commissioning of three fully upgraded orthopaedic wards at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, which now provide modern facilities with a combined capacity of 102 patients.

NNPC Foundation Managing Director Emmanuella Arukwe cited data from a 2024 Nigeria Health Watch report indicating that over 250,000 Nigerians die annually due to insufficient access to healthcare, with many underserved communities facing limited medical infrastructure and a shortage of skilled personnel.

She framed the MRI installation as a direct, measurable response to those figures. “With the MRI installation, we address the issue of effective diagnosis and treatment, patient referrals to distant locations, and the associated risks of travelling to access care,” she said. “We also significantly close the gap of impoverishing healthcare expenditure arising from huge spending with limited or scarce resources.”

Arukwe’s remarks carried particular weight coming weeks after the NNPC Foundation received the CSR Champion Award (Health) 2025 from Independent Newspapers, presented at the Silver Jubilee edition of the Independent Newspapers Awards in Lagos on April 18, 2026 recognition the Foundation said validated its impact-driven model of social investment.

Prior interventions acknowledged in that recognition include free cataract screenings and surgeries that restored sight to over 6,000 Nigerians, among them minors born blind, as well as cancer and glaucoma treatments and medical outreaches to underserved communities.

Chief Medical Director of NAUTH, Dr. Joe Ugboaja, formally accepted the equipment on behalf of the hospital, describing the gesture as one that brings “hope to the hopeless.” He assured the NNPC Foundation that the hospital management was committed to the proper maintenance and sustainability of the MRI facility. “Our vision is to be among the best teaching hospitals in Nigeria,” Ugboaja said.

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Nigeria’s public health sector has long struggled with what Ojulari described as a “myriad of challenges,” including equipment deficits, technology limitations, personnel attrition, and funding gaps.

The NNPC Foundation, established in 2023 as the structured CSR arm of NNPC Ltd., was designed to address those challenges through strategic, data-driven social investment rather than fragmented, reactive interventions.

The commissioning was also attended by Anambra State Commissioner for Health Dr. Afam Obidike, a delegation from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, and the Anambra State executive committee of the All Progressives Congress, led by its chairman, Senator Emmanuel Anosike.