Guinness donates N5m to LUTH eye centre

Guinness Nigeria has donated N5 million to its Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) eye centre.

Christopher Bode, chief medical director of LUTH, who confirmed the donation, commended the brewing brand on its sustaining management of its eye centres for over 50 years.

“The gem that was sown many years ago has grown into a mighty oak that has trained over 100 specialist doctors, many medical students and other sundry healthcare workers,” he said.

“This eye centre is a living testimony to the values that Guinness espouses as a strong Nigerian brand. They have stayed this course with us over the years and I can boldly say that Guinness has a veritable legacy in LUTH.

“I would like to encourage other corporate bodies to follow this marker which Guinness has laid, and adopt various departments in our hospital.”

Sesan Sobowale, corporate relations director, Guinness Nigeria, noted that the donation is in keeping with the company’s commitment to supporting the centres in sustenance of its original vision and to ensure that the facility remains the reference point in the provision of excellent eye care in Nigeria’s health sector.

“Our relationship with the hospital is a long one. It is worthy to note that many years after the establishment of the LUTH Guinness Eye centre, it has continued to receive commendations from different parts of the world,” Sobowale said.

“At Guinness, our vision has always been to make a positive difference in society. We believe passionately that when we help Nigerians preserve their sight, we not only deliver quality eye care but we also contribute to the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

“It is our hope that this gesture would enhance the capacity of the Eye Centre to serve many more Nigerians. We will strive to do more with a view to creating a healthy society that improves the overall development of the nation.”

The first Guinness Eye Hospital was built and commissioned in Kaduna in 1962, before the official opening of the company’s first brewery in Ikeja, Lagos.

Since then, the company has established similar eye hospitals in Onitsha and Lagos, with the Lagos centre located within LUTH and became operational in 1992.

The Guinness Eye centre Onitsha, Anambra state, was established in 1984 and operates under the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital.