Health
Bauchi to offer free ultrasound scans to women
By Umar Sani
The Bauchi State Government has commissioned 73 anti-shock garments and 20 4D ultrasound scanning machines for deployment to the 20 general hospitals across the state.
The intervention is expected to strengthen maternal healthcare services, improve prenatal diagnosis and help reduce maternal and infant mortality across the state.
The state Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Task Force on Primary Health Care, Auwal Jatau, disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking at the 2025 Annual Recognition and Award Ceremony and the Quarter Two 2026 State Task Force on Primary Health Care meeting held at the Government House, Bauchi.
Jatau said the 73 anti-shock garments would be used in the management of postpartum haemorrhage, while the 20 4D ultrasound machines, valued at N750m, would improve prenatal diagnosis and access to quality maternal healthcare.
He said, “To strengthen our capacity to prevent and manage maternal mortality, we will today officially commission 73 life-saving anti-shock garments for the management of postpartum haemorrhage.
“We will also deploy 20 advanced 4D ultrasound scanning machines to 20 General Hospitals across the state at a cost of N750m, to improve prenatal diagnostics and access to quality maternal healthcare.”
The deputy governor added that the state government, through the support of the IMPACT Project, was providing free antenatal care and delivery kits across the 212 primary healthcare centres in the state.
According to him, the government had also engaged and formally absorbed 1,678 skilled birth attendants into the permanent civil service to address manpower shortages in healthcare facilities.
He said, “By deploying these skilled healthcare professionals across our primary healthcare facilities, we are addressing critical human resource gaps that have historically affected rural healthcare delivery and establishing a stronger institutional safety net for pregnant women across Bauchi State.”
Also speaking, the Project Manager of the World Bank-supported project in Bauchi State, Dr Adamu Muhammad, said the 4D ultrasound machines were among the latest diagnostic equipment and could perform a wide range of examinations.
Muhammad said the machines could be used for obstetric examinations to determine the number and position of babies during pregnancy, as well as transvaginal and transabdominal ultrasound scans.
He added that the equipment could also perform echocardiography and Doppler examinations.
He said, “Because it is 4D, once you are doing the scanning, you will be able to turn any organ that you are looking at 360 degrees to be able to look at all the different sides.
“So it will be able to give you a more accurate diagnosis while you are scanning.”
Muhammad explained that the machines were procured with support from the World Bank-backed project and would be distributed to the 20 general hospitals across the state.
He said the intervention was aimed at enabling the facilities to provide free ultrasound scanning services, adding that about 300,000 women were targeted to benefit from the intervention within the next three months.
The project manager disclosed that about N595m was spent on the procurement of the ultrasound machines.
He further said 73 anti-shock garments were being distributed to high-volume primary healthcare centres across the state at a cost of about N25m.
According to him, the garments are designed to temporarily control severe bleeding caused by postpartum haemorrhage and prevent women from going into shock while they are being referred to higher-level health facilities.
He said, “The anti-shock garment is a strategy used to prevent continuous bleeding when a woman encounters postpartum haemorrhage in a primary healthcare centre.
“When they realise that the bleeding is beyond what they can manage, they will put the anti-shock garment on her, and it will temporarily control the bleeding. It will prevent her from going into shock while she is transported to the nearby hospital, where she will receive all the care that is needed.”
Muhammad added that the anti-shock garments were reusable, as they could be removed, washed and returned for use by other patients.
He said 73 high-volume primary healthcare facilities would benefit from the distribution.
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