Garoua General Hospital : The budget is voted at around 2.4 billion FCFA for fiscal 2024

It was during the first ordinary session of the Board of Directors that the directors validated the 2024-2027 strategic performance plan, the program budget for the 2024 financial year and the annual work plan of Garoua General Hospital. The session was held on Thursday March 21, 2024 under the chairmanship of MAOUNDE Tobi, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Marcus DARE

The operating roadmap for Garoua General Hospital (HGG) is all mapped out following the first ordinary session of the Board of Directors, held in the auditorium. On Thursday, March 21, 2024, Board members examined the documents presented to them by the Hospital’s General Manager. These included the strategic performance plan for 2024-2027, the program budget for the 2024 financial year, and the annual work plan for Garoua General Hospital. All these documents were unanimously approved by the directors. The unanimous vote on these projects is further proof that Pr. HAMADOU Bâ, General Manager, has the support and blessing of the Board of Directors. The documents reviewed are in line with the orientations of the Government’s public policies in the health sector, as well as the health sector strategy 2016- 2027.

The highlight of the Board of Directors’ session was the vote on the operating budget for Garoua General Hospital. The budget, balanced in terms of income and expenditure, amounts to 2,339,926,573 FCFA. In terms of revenue, the hospital’s financial resources are based essentially on its own income, plus subsidies divided between operating and capital expenditure. Expenditure, meanwhile, is equally divided between investment and operations, in proportions in line with the 2024-2027 strategic performance plan. All of which reassured the Chairman of the Board of Directors, members and invited experts. Reliable and transparent budget execution is a priority for the Chairman of the Board. He reminded the Managing Director of the trust placed in him, saying: “Rest assured, Mr. Managing Director, of the support of your various administrative and financial supervisors, and all the members of the Board of Directors.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors and its members passed a series of resolutions in accordance with the regulations governing public administrative establishments, which should serve to enhance not only the health facility’s amenities for the population, but also its visibility. In addition, the General Manager was recommended to follow up rigorously on the MINSANTE project for the installation of solar fields to supply the Hospital with electrical energy. The 750 KVA generators in operation consume a lot of fuel, given ENEO’s frequent power cuts, said the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The abundance of sunshine in the North is the opportunity the Board wishes to seize to remedy this situation. Another recommendation addressed to the Managing Director is the construction of one or more boreholes at L’Hôpital to reduce water consumption costs. The Board also made a plea to the MINSANTE (Ministry of Health) regarding the crying need for medical and paramedical staff at this first-class hospital infrastructure. The hospital urgently needs specialists in visceral surgery, radiology, gynecology, ophthalmology, ENT and neurology. Measures are needed to adapt this ultra-modern hospital to its environment. At present, the hospital does not have outpatient toilets or sick bay facilities. These are facilities that are very familiar to the local population, and which the Board felt should be built.

The first session of the Garoua General Hospital’s 2024 Board of Directors gave the General Manager the go-ahead to take on the many challenges facing this young health facility, through the successful execution of the unanimously adopted 2024 budget.

Reaction

“The 10 directors unanimously approved the 2024/2027 strategic development plan and the draft budget.”

MAHOUNDE Tobi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Garoua General Hospital (HGG).

Garoua General Hospital drew up its strategic performance plan and adopted its budget. This plan must comply with the 2030 national development strategy, the 2016-2027 health sector strategy and the public health strategic plan. It is therefore a matter of verifying this conformity. The DG presented us with a clear document based on 4 programs (disease prevention and health promotion, disease management, infrastructure supply and equipment, governance and strategic steering) broken down into activities and objectives to be achieved. We congratulated the DG on the relevance of the plan, the realism of the budget and the quality of both the form and content of the document presented.

The 10 directors unanimously approved the 2024/2025 strategic development plan, and the budget amounts to 2,339,926,573 FCFA. We dare to believe that with this minimal budget, we’ll actually be able to meet the enormous needs; when you look around the General Hospital, it’s a gigantic building. All the equipment is first-generation, and the first problem on the horizon is electricity and water. You see, we have a 750 KWatt generator that consumes 300 liters in an hour. This situation will eat up a lot of the institution’s budget.

The directors unanimously recommended that the General Manager find an alternative solution, namely solar fields. You know, here in the North, there’s also sunshine and it’s a source of energy; he should try to see how to migrate to this option to reduce the high cost of electricity and water. The Hospital also needs to find a functional borehole to overcome this difficulty. The other difficulty is not the least. This hospital was built on a model that is not ours. It’s a big hospital. We have our own culture: when you come with a patient and several carers, they don’t want to leave for at least two or three days.

We’ve instructed the General Manager to look into the possibility of building sheds with external toilets in the near future. This will enhance the convenience of the sick nurses and, in the long run, find a place to build a mosque for prayer. These are just a few of the resolutions adopted by the Board prior to its meeting, and submitted to the directors for approval.

The other recommendation is that we asked the CEO of Garoua General Hospital to publicize the hospital, to communicate about it, because when users hear about the General Hospital, they think it’s very expensive. Sometimes it’s the same amount for examinations they do elsewhere that’s the same here this time, with reliable results. My wish is that the local population use this hospital, it’s their hospital and we’re lucky to have all its equipment available. The Head of State has done a great thing for Garoua by giving us this architectural jewel. I urge the population to come and seek medical advice at Garoua General Hospital.