IHS Nigeria is part of the IHS Holding Limited group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count.

The telecommunications infrastructure company visited Jericho Specialist Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, to assess the usage condition of the oxygen plant jointly donated in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in May 2024.

The oxygen plant donation is part of IHS Nigeria’s commitment to improving Nigeria’s healthcare system through sustainable, impactful initiatives designed to serve health facilities in the state.

Ahead of a tour of the facility, the IHS Nigeria and UNICEF team were received at the Oyo State Ministry of Health by Dr. Oluwaserimi Adewunmi Ajetunmobi, the commissioner for Health, alongside the Permanent Secretary and other Directors from the Ministry and the Oyo State Hospital Management Board.

The visit, led by senior officials from IHS Nigeria and UNICEF, provided an opportunity to evaluate the plant’s operational efficiency, its integration into critical care delivery, and its broader impact on the state’s healthcare system.

Commenting on the visit, Titilope Oguntuga, director, Sustainability, IHS Nigeria remarked:

“At IHS, sustainability is at the core of everything we do. Our focus spans four key pillars which are Ethics & Governance, Environment & Climate Change, People & Communities and Education & Economic Growth. This oxygen plant initiative speaks directly to our commitment to people and communities. As we assess the progress of this project, we are reminded of its alignment with key Sustainable Development Goals, including good health and well-being, responsible consumption, and partnerships for the attainment of the SDG goals.”

“We are here not just to inspect the plant, but to witness the impact, strengthen relationships, and continue building a partnership that delivers real value to Nigerians,” she added.

Dr. Olufemi Adeyemi, Health Specialist, UNICEF Lagos, commented:

“It is a pleasure to witness the results of our strong collaboration with IHS Nigeria and Oyo State. On behalf of UNICEF, I want to sincerely thank the state for providing an enabling environment that makes impactful partnerships like this possible. We are here to assess how well the oxygen plant is performing. We no longer want to see lives lost due to a lack of oxygen. We want to be assured that the investment made is truly saving lives and delivering the impact it was intended to.”

Dr. Oluwaserimi Adewunmi Ajetunmobi, commissioner of Health, Oyo State, expressed appreciation for the initiative, saying:

“This partnership between IHS Nigeria and UNICEF is a testament to the power of collaboration in strengthening our healthcare system. The oxygen plant at Jericho Specialist Hospital has become a critical asset in our fight to reduce avoidable deaths, especially among newborns and vulnerable patients. It is not just a donation; it is a life-saving intervention that has redefined emergency response capabilities in the state. We commend IHS Nigeria and UNICEF for their foresight, dedication, and long-term commitment to healthcare delivery in Oyo State.”

Dr. Akintunde Ayinde, Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health commented on the significance of the oxygen plant and the broader impact of the partnership.

“Before COVID-19, oxygen therapy was not prioritized in most hospitals, government or private. But when the crisis hit, IHS Nigeria and UNICEF didn’t just donate equipment, they identified the gap and moved quickly to close it. This oxygen plant has completely transformed our emergency response system. We’ve gone from scarcity to stability. Patients who once struggled to access oxygen especially those who couldn’t afford it now receive it without delay’’.

“Beyond the donation, IHS and UNICEF brought us a sustainability model, trained engineers, and introduced a more efficient, solar-powered oxygen management system. We’re now extending oxygen access to primary and secondary care centers and even supplying private clinics in crisis. For me, this initiative is not just impactful, it is lifesaving. We are truly grateful and committed to building on this collaboration to ensure long-term impact,” he added.

The oxygen plant is equipped with 50 units of 6-cubic-meter cylinders and 150 units of 3 cubic meter cylinders that currently supplies both private and public hospitals including primary health centers all over Oyo state.

The hospital management acknowledged the difference the plant has made in ensuring prompt availability of oxygen even for primary healthcare centers that are unable to pay, and in improving the medical outcomes for many patients who need oxygen as part of their management.

Recall that earlier this year; the team had visited the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, to evaluate the operational status and impact of the oxygen plant installed in Ogun.

For an overview of commonly searched work-related queries from the last 90 days, please find the table below.

“Employer monitoring social media” – 900% Search Increase 

“Employee monitoring is legal in the UK. To begin monitoring employees, employers must be transparent about their intentions, such as to detect criminal activity, check mishandling of information, or to ensure appropriate standards.

“All personal data monitored must be relevant to their intentions. So, if you discuss work matters on your personal social media, this could be a reason to conduct a legal investigation.

But if you keep personal and professional life very separate, and disagree with your employer’s reasoning for employee monitoring, you can take your employer to an employment tribunal or complain to the Information Commissioner.”

Fiona’s Tips:

• Make sure to keep your personal social media registered under a personal email address. 
• Avoid using yourclient’s or company’s name in messages, as this could warrant an investigation into a breach of confidentiality.
• Do not discuss colleagues on social media or interact heavily with them outside of working hours on personal platforms. If a grievance is raised about workplace harassment, your social media could warrant monitoring.

“Employment law changes 2025” – 450% Search Increase 

“Labour’s Right to Switch Off has been scrapped, meaning employees do not have extra protection around switching off outside of working hours. This right aimed to allow workers to ignore work calls and emails and have the right to decline extra work on the weekends.

“Unless your contract states you must make yourself available outside of working hours, the scrapping of this right shouldn’t make a difference to your right to switch off. Discuss boundaries with your employer so that you can be most productive during your contracted hours.”

“Legal temperature to work in UK” – 70% Search Increase

“Although there isn’t a legal temperature to work in, 18-21°C is the optimal temperature for workers to be most efficient. Being cold not only negatively affects our productivity, but it can affect our health. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires employers to provide a reasonable temperature. If you feel this is breached, the best option is to contact your union, as the law around working temperature is ambiguous.” 

“Excuses to work from home” – 70% Search Increase

“You might want to work from home due to sickness, childcare responsibilities, or other appointments you want to work around. All employees have the right to request flexible working by making a statutory application. However, if you’re hoping to work from home on a random Tuesday, your employer is not required to entitle you to that.

“If you are ill, employers might believe you are too ill to work, so working from home is unfortunately not a fallback option in all companies.”

“Can you unsend an email?” – 40% Search Increase

“Mistakes can happen, whether that be a small typo or an email addressed to the wrong client or colleague. It’s important to remain calm and professional in these moments. 

“A little-known fact about Outlook is that you can recall an email, which essentially unsends it. The caveat is that it is only possible if both you and the recipient have a Microsoft 365 work or school email account in the same organisation. So, if you send an email to the wrong colleague again, you can now recall it and forget it ever happened!”

The development comes after Nigeria was ranked first in Africa for the use of bleaching creams.

Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, announced this on Thursday, February 9, in Kano.

Adeyeye revealed that Nigeria ranks first in Africa among countries that use bleaching creams at the start of a media sensitization workshop on the dangers of bleaching creams organized by the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists.

“The World Health Organisation study in 2018 revealed that the use of skin bleaching cream is prevalent amongst 77 percent of Nigerian women, which is the highest in Africa compared to 59 percent in Togo, 35 percent in South Africa, and 27 percent in Senegal.

“These scary statistics have shown that the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faceted regulatory approach,” she said.

Adeyeye went on to say that the Federal Government is working hard to put stringent measures in place to combat the threat.

Sensitization workshops in the six geopolitical zones, according to the NAFDAC chief, are part of the measures being taken to discourage the use of bleaching creams.

“This sensitization workshop is a training of trainers program with the great expectation that participants will assume roles of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against the use of bleaching creams.

“I wish to assure you that NAFDAC will henceforth constantly engage the mass media as we strive to bring down to the grass levels the positive impact of our regulatory activities.”

“Even though I have assigned some of my competent officers to carry out this training, it has become imperative for me to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams include cancer, damage to vital organs in the body, skin irritation and allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature aging and prolonged healing of wounds,” she stated.

Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), represented by Dr. Salihu Abdulkareem of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), made this remark during the south-south NITDA HACKATHON challenge for young and innovative minds from the region held at the Senate Chambers of the University of Calabar.

He explained that “driving digital innovation and entrepreneurship by challenging Nigeria’s youth to create and develop solutions from inception to commercialization will, no doubt, boost the country’s economy.”

The NITDA Hackathon challenge was themed: “Innovation-Driven Ideas for addressing local challenges in Health, Government, Transportation, Financial Services and Smart city in Nigeria for Social and Economic Development.” 

The DG asserted that digital innovation and entrepreneurship would help fast-track the recovery of other traditional economic sectors by supporting the provision and adoption of indigenous and tailor-made solutions for nationwide implementation of the policy through automation, intelligent processes, and ICT solutions.

He further revealed that NITDA Hackathon 2022 aims to find solutions towards building a digital Nigeria, adding that talented Nigerians are challenged to come up with clearly defined ideas and prototypes of solutions around agriculture, logistics, and security for the swift growth and development of the country.

According to Kashifu, “African continent is full of problems waiting to be solved, this presents the next biggest market worldwide. Nigeria, in particular, has a rapidly growing youthful population by which taking advantage of the market will lead to the creation of jobs, solutions, and revenue flow for the country”, he added.

The DG maintained that collective responsibility is needed to achieve the positive impacts, for which the nation yearns for solutions. He encouraged the young innovators not to relent in their various efforts towards tackling the problems bedeviling the country, saying that such solutions will go a long way in addressing development issues.

He appeals to teeming youths from the region to always showcase their talents which will serve as channels for solutions to some of the problems that require immediate panacea.

He revealed that the program also provides an avenue for young Nigerians to contribute their quota in the solution-finding and provides opportunities for creating jobs both directly and indirectly, keying into the Digital Economy policy that will facilitate the swift growth and development of the country.

Professor Florence Banji Obi, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Calabar, ably represented by Professor Idingesit Akpabio, Chairman, Committee of Deans, the University of Calabar, in her earlier remarks, appreciated NITDA for choosing the University of Calabar for the program. She commended the initiatives and the manner of their implementation across the country for the growth of our nation.

She commented that technology is changing how we do things and has fast-tracked operations processes. “Programs like this are needed to keep the young people busy solving the problems faced by the country, more so that such programs give an avenue for teeming youth to showcase their talents which will help solve those challenges,” she added.

Prof. Obi encouraged participants not to stop at solution finding after this program but to go further in actualizing what they have started, which she believes will bring about solutions to the problems faced in the country.

Winners from the pitching context received cash prizes ranging from N1.5million for the overall Winners, N1 million for the first runner ups, and N500,000 to the second runner ups as the 3-day event came to a close with fanfare and beautiful memories.