Exclusive: 90% of Yola’s Private Hospitals Run by MAUTH Doctors – Inside The City’s Hidden Healthcare Dependency

EXCLUSIVE: 90% of Yola’s Private Hospitals Run by MAUTH Doctors – Inside The City’s Hidden Healthcare Dependency

…Without MAUTH Yola, Adamawa’s Medical System Would Collapse Overnight

By Zainab Jalo

In Yola, Adamawa’s bustling capital, private hospitals are often seen as independent pillars of healthcare but investigation revealed a startling truth: more than 90% of them are owned, managed, or co-managed by doctors employed at the Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital (MAUTH), Yola.

This discovery reshapes the way we understand healthcare delivery in the state. Far from being separate entities, Yola’s private clinics are, in effect, extensions of the federal teaching hospital’s human capital. Without MAUTH’s doctors, nurses and specialists, most private facilities in the city simply would not exist.

The MAUTH Effect – The explanation lies in salary structures and retention. MAUTH operates under the federal pay scale, enabling it to attract and keep highly skilled medical professionals. The Adamawa State Government cannot match these wages, meaning that without MAUTH, many of these experts would have relocated to other federal tertiary hospitals nationwide.

Patients, too, would face a grim reality. With no MAUTH-trained professionals in the city, private hospital bills would soar beyond affordability for most residents, forcing them to travel out of state or turn to alternative medicine, often with deadly consequences.

Here’s how it plays out daily: a patient walks into a private hospital in Yola and is seen by a MAUTH doctor moonlighting there. The patient is given courteous, attentive service. But when a case becomes too complicated or life-threatening, the same doctor refers the patient to MAUTH, the only facility in the region with the state-of-the-art diagnostic labs, advanced theatres, and fully equipped Intensive Care Units (ICUs) needed for high-risk interventions.

When these cases, already critical on arrival, end tragically, it’s MAUTH that bears the brunt of public outrage. Accusations of negligence and inefficiency follow, overshadowing the fact that the hospital was often the last, best hope.

Allegations and Realities: Some critics allege that patient diversion from public to private hospitals are sometimes influenced by personal financial interests, whether deliberate or through systemic gaps. While such allegations remain unproven, the pattern raises legitimate questions about how patient flow is managed in Yola’s healthcare system.

Yet, the picture isn’t black and white. Without these private hospitals, many of them run by MAUTH staff, the hospital’s wards and emergency units would be overwhelmed to breaking point. Even now, MAUTH’s staff work under intense pressure, with patient numbers pushing the limits of available resources.

The Bottom Line: Our investigation makes one thing clear: MAUTH Yola is not just a hospital; it is the backbone of Adamawa’s healthcare infrastructure. The institution’s cutting-edge diagnostic facilities, specialist expertise and critical-care capabilities are unmatched by any private facility in the state capital.

If Adamawa’s primary health centres and state hospitals were properly equipped and staffed, they could take on a larger share of the burden. But until that day, Yola’s private hospitals and indeed its entire healthcare ecosystem remain tethered to the professionals, equipment, and expertise of MAUTH Yola.

In the words of one senior medical source: “Take MAUTH out of Yola, and you don’t just lose a hospital, you lose the heart of healthcare in this city.”

Zainab Jalo is a product of The Periscope Global’s Language and Communication Skills Training