Local doctor sending used medical supplies to Nigeria for pediatric ICU
PALMYRA, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Some much-needed medical supplies are en route to Nigeria thanks to the efforts of two local hospitals and a doctor who works at both of them.
Dr. Odiraa Nwankwo, who is from Nigeria, works as a pediatric ICU physician and AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington and Cooper University Hospital.
He collected used medical equipment that was donated by both hospitals.
Today, a crew loaded the beds and ventilators and x-ray machines on to a 40 foot shipping container headed for a new pediatric ICU unit in Nigeria.
"When they go to Nigeria, they become brand new. All this equipment they do not have," Dr. Nwankwo said. "Nigeria is the biggest country in Africa, population wise. We are over 200 million people, but we don't have one single organized pediatric ICU."
He is working to change that.
Dr. Nwankwo and his team have been training the doctors in Nigeria over Zoom calls during the pandemic.
They are asking for donations of medical equipment and volunteers.
