History of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, UNN.

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), University of Nigeria Nsukka was established in the 1974/75 academic session as an integral component of the veterinary training programme when Veterinary Medicine was a sub–faculty under the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. It had a Clinical Co-ordinator as Head at inception. The Hospital had the core mandate of training veterinary clinical students in the art and science of veterinary clinical practice. It was to also render veterinary clinical services to animal owners in the then Eastern Nigeria. In 1980, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was carved out of the then Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, and this made the VTH assume greater relevance not only in the training of veterinary clinical students but also as a referral centre for other veterinary departments and establishments in what is now the South East and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria. In 1989, the Governing Council of the University of Nigeria approved the establishment of a Management Board for the VTH with Prof. Mba Uzoukwu appointed as the first Director. The current Chairman of the Management Board of the VTH is the Vice Chancellor (Prof. B. C. Ozumba), and the current Director VTH is Prof. J. I. Ihedioha.

Description of Activities and Projects of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, UNN

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) serves as a centre for teaching and training of undergraduate and graduate students in the art and science of Veterinary Medicine and Practice. It renders consultancy and extension services to small and large scale livestock farmers and pet owners within and outside adjoining South-East, South-South and North-Central States of Nigeria through its Ambulatory Clinic. It also provides research facilities for researchers in the clinical and biomedical sciences. The VTH further serves as a referral centre for veterinary clinics and related establishments in the South-East, South-South and nearby North-Central areas of Nigeria. It also organizes seminars and workshops for field veterinarians, livestock farmers and animal health workers. The Hospital, in conjunction with other livestock agencies, also plays a vital public health role in disease surveillance and monitoring and in creating awareness in the community and environs, on the need for pet owners to vaccinate their animals regularly as a preventive measure against prevailing endemic and zoonotic diseases.

List of Sections in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, UNN.

  • Administration (General Office and Director’s Office)
  • Reception and Records
  • Examination and Treatment Rooms
  • Clinical Laboratory
  • Radiology Laboratory
  • Ultrasonography Laboratory
  • Animal Health Store
  • Central Medical Store and Dump Store
  • Surgical Operation Theatres (for Small & Large animals)
  • In-patient Wards/Kennels
  • Rabies Isolation Unit