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Plateau gets 1.5m dollars for Save One Million Lives programme

Plateau gets 1.5m dollars for Save One Million Lives programme
NAN-HG-5
Lives
Jos, Aug. 28, 2017 (NAN) The Plateau Government says it has received 1.5 million dollars for its Save One Million Lives programme for Results (SOML) funded by the Federal Government and World Bank.
The state Programme Manager of the Save One Million Lives for Results, Mr Philimeon Dagwa‎, disclosed this on Monday in Jos at the opening of the Integrated Supportive Supervision training workshop it organised for 82 health workers in ‎the state.
Dagwa explained that the ‎grant was received through the state Ministry of Health for implementation of the programme.
Accroding to him, SOML provides incentives based on achievement of results (health outcomes) and helps to drive institutional processes needed to achieve these results.
He disclosed that the programme seeks to catalyze change in the way health business is done by focusing on results and governance.
The programme manager disclosed that the ‎ programme was focused on six pillars; including improving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), improving routine immunisation coverage and achieving polio eradication.
Others are the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV, scaling up access to essential medicines and commodities, malaria control and improving child nutrition.
He said that the programme represents a bold attempt to improve maternal and child health outcomes so that they are more in keeping with the country’s level of wealth.
He said it also intends for the health sector to contribute to the economic and social development of Nigeria instead of being a drag on its growth.
“This would bring about a re orientation of service delivery to results rather than just inputs,” he said.
He enjoined the health workers participating in the training to ensure that they imbibe the knowledge and skills as they would train others at their various health centres in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day training will end on Aug. 30. (NAN)
UBO/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

U.S. signs $469m HIV/AIDS operation plan with Nigeria

U.S. signs $469 m HIV/AIDS operation plan with Nigeria

NAN-HG-5

Grant

By Isaac Aregbesola

Abuja, June 16, 2017 (NAN) The U.S. on Friday in Abuja signed 469 million dollars (about N147.5 billion) Country Operation Plan (COP) to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in Nigeria.

The COP was signed by the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah Birx, and Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Sani Aliyu.

The ceremony was witnessed by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, who said that “Nigerian is working with the embassy and others are committed to changing Nigerian history for better”.

Birx said that the COP was an annual programme plan for U.S. Government investments in the Nigeria National HIV/AIDS Response through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

“U.S. Government commitment to the Nigeria COP 2017 is approximately 469 million dollars including centrally funded initiatives, to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in the country.

“Since its inception in Nigeria in 2004, PEPFAR has disbursed more than 4.3 billion dollars in support of the Nigeria HIV/AIDS.

“It is a rare privilege to be here and it is a historic moment because it is the first time we ever signed a U.S. government commitment HIV/AIDS to a country in a country,” she said.

She said that the present U.S. Administration was committed to the issue of HIV/AIDS and also committed to the people and Nigerian government who she said was doing something big at the moment.

The envoy said that the authorities in Nigeria had been working to ensure that all Nigerians can thrive free of HIV/AIDS and be free of the disease.

She said that COP signing was important because it would help to give more understanding on how to control the pandemic by the year 2020.

Birx said that the U.S. was also committed to ensuring that the HIV/AIDS was put under control in Nigeria by the year 2020.

“As a partner and the American people to the government and the people of Nigeria, our commitment is to really control this pandemic.

“I think Nigeria can go from the lowest number in West and Central Africa to the leadership position that it should be,” she said.

The director-general of NACA expressed appreciation for the help rendered by the U.S. government in fighting HIV/AIDS in the country.

“We are just about crossing the first million persons on treatment most of which is driven by U.S. government that has put more than 700,000 on treatment.

“U.S. is also committed to putting an addition 260,000 people on treatment that means that the U.S. government is keeping alive hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.

“We are grateful for that, we are also appreciative of the confidence repose on us,” Aliyu said.

According to him, the Nigerian government will work closely with the U.S. government to continue to advocate for greater resources.

“We know our responsibility as government and we will make sure that we deliver on it,” the director-general said. (NAN)

IAA/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NGO disburses N39m nutritional grant to 9,299 women in Jigawa

NGO disburses N39m nutritional grant to 9,299 women in Jigawa

NAN-H-3

Nutrition

By Muhammad Nasir Bashir

Buji (Jigawa), June 6, 2017 (NAN) The Action Against Hunger (AAH), an NGO, says it has disbursed N39 million to 9, 299 expectant mothers in Buji Local Government Area of Jigawa in May.

The Information Officer in charge of the Local Government Council, Alhaji Ali Safiyanu, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Buji on Wednesday.

Safiyanu quoted CDGP’s Programme Coordinator in the area, Malam Abdullahi Muhammad, as disclosing this during a steering committee meeting in Buji.

He said the intervention fund was under AAH’s Child Development Grant Programme (CGDP) to improve their nutritional intake.

The spokesman also quoted the coordinator as saying that the women were paid N3,500 each monthly before, but the NGO increased it to N4,000 due to increase in the cost of food items.

Safiyanu said the programme was being carried out in 91 villages in the area.

NAN reports that the programme was supported by the British Department for International Development (DFID) to control malnutrition, maternal and infant mortality rate at the grassroots.

The programme is being implemented in three selected local government areas of the state; namely Buji, Gagarawa and Kirikassamma.

The registered women had been receiving the monthly stipend under the programme to improve their nutritional intake.

It provides unconditional monthly cash transfers of N4,000 to screened pregnant women through their pregnancy period and until the child reaches the age of two.

The cash assistance is to assist the beneficiaries feed well; cater for their pregnancy and the child after birth, to reduce the rate of maternal mortality.

The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Council, Alhaji Hashimu Ahmad, commended the NGO for the gesture, noting that it will help in enhancing healthcare delivery in the area.

Ahmad also commended the NGO for extending the programme from 2018 to 2019. (NAN)

MNB/OIF/MST

Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Senate urges FG to fasttrack access to $300m malaria bond

Senate urges FG to fast-track access to $300m malaria bond

NAN-HG-8

Malaria

By Cecilia Ijuo

Abuja, March 14, 2017 (NAN) The Senate on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to fast-track access to the 300 million dollar malaria bond by the Global Fund to fight malaria, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and tuberculosis.

This followed a motion by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Sen. Olanrewaju Tejuoso, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The motion is titled: “Urgent need for the Federal Government to access a $300 million Malaria Bond through the Innovative Financing for Malaria Prevention and Control Project (IMPACT)’’.

Tejuoso (APC-Ogun) commended the Global Fund for providing the bond to help tackle the diseases.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the “Global Fund’’ is an international financing organisation that aims to “attract and disburse additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria’’.

NAN further reports that, being a public-private partnership, the organisation has it secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.

The organisation began operations in January 2002, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, being one of the first private foundations among many bilateral donors to provide seed money for the project.

The prayers of the motion were unanimously adopted by the lawmakers in a voice vote.

Presenting the motion, Tejuoso expressed concern, quoting statistics indicating that malaria was a major public health problem in the country.

The statistics showed an estimated 100 million cases of malaria on an annual basis as well as 97 per cent of Nigerian population being at risk of transmission.

He further said that malaria was killing 300,000 people yearly in Nigeria, while the country accounted for roughly one quarter of all malaria infections and deaths in the world.

“Malaria accounts for about 23 per cent of the entire burden of disease in Nigeria and is responsible for the deaths of 250,000 children under five years old in the country annually.

“Children who survive malaria usually have problems of cognitive and physical development.

“There is also an equity dimension to the malaria issue in the country as it disproportionately affects the poor.

“The poor and vulnerable in our constituencies bear the greatest burden,’’ he said.

While commending the effort of the federal government at stemming the spread of malaria in the last 10 years, Tejuoso said there was room for improvement.

He pointed out that malaria, besides health implication, constituted a huge economic loss to Nigeria.

According to him, malaria diverts resources from our healthcare facilities and not only does it cost loss of lives, it is crippling our economic development.

The committee chairman quoted the National Malaria Elimination Programme as estimating the annual financial loss due to malaria, at about N132 billion in the form of treatment costs and loss of man hours, among others.

He said that in view of the substantial funding gaps for control of malaria, accessing the bond was an opportunity to mobilise additional resources for the health problem in a difficult fiscal context.

He said accessing that the bond had numerous advantages for the country, which he said, include the innovative financing mechanism that allows government to sign performance-based contracts with private entities.

“Accessing the bond would guarantee a 45-million-dollar in grant financing to be given to Nigeria by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

“This bond, if combined with the malaria bond, would bring the borrowing rate of interest to zero,’’ he said.

Seconding the motion, Sen. Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto) said the motion was timely in view of the havoc malaria had caused over the years.

According to Wamakko, the explanations given by the sponsor of the bill were detailed enough to get the Senate approval.

He said: “I second the motion because the content is so convincing and accurate.’’

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, commended Tejuoso for tabling the motion.

According to him, the motion is very important given the numerous challenges posed by the disease.

“I believe that in fighting malaria, the federal government needs to take up this initiative quickly before the expiry date of March 2017.

“Getting access to this concessionary rate of the World Bank would go a long way in fighting malaria,’’ Saraki said. (NAN)

CJM/AIB/MST

Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Foreign

UN urges Nigeria to disburse $1bn pledges at Oslo conference

UN urges Nigeria to disburse $1bn pledges at Oslo conference

NAN-H-106

By Isaac Aregbesola

Abuja, March 6, 2017 (NAN) The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has urged the Nigerian government to step up response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the Boko Haram insurgency.

The body also called on Federal Government to scale up disbursement of the one billion dollars Nigeria pledged at the Oslo conference from the states and the national levels.

Mr Matthew Rycroft, President of the UNSC for March 2017 and leader of the delegation to Nigeria, made the appeals on Monday in Abuja at a news conference on the team’s visit to Nigeria and Lake Chad Basin region.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that donors pledged more than 670 million dollars at a UN-backed humanitarian Conference on Northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region.

The conference was hosted by Norway on Feb. 24 in conjunction with Nigeria and Germany to mobilise aid operations in the region.

Rycroft, who is the UK Ambassador to the UN, explained that the mission of the UNSC to Nigeria was aimed at enabling the Security Council get first-hand information on the humanitarian crisis in the region.

He noted with concern that the humanitarian crisis in the North East of Nigeria was unfolding on the scale that was hardly imaginable.

Rycroft said the UNSC aimed to shine spotlight on the crisis so that the whole world, including the governments of Lake Chad region would step up response, before it is too late.

However, the envoy commended the hard work made by Nigerian armed forces and the multinational joint task force towards combating the Boko Haram insurgency in the region.

He reaffirmed the council’s commitment to supporting the efforts to root out terrorism out of the region.

 “We stand with the government and the people of this region and in particular the government of Nigeria in confronting the Boko Haram terrorism.

“We commend the effort of the governments of this region to coordinate together and to fight the Boko Haram and we encourage them to reinforce the effort until the job is done.

“We encourage the government to step up to disburse the $1 billion that they pledged to the Oslo conference from the state level and the national level.’’

Ms Michele Sison, the U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative in UN, described the Lake Chad Basin crisis as a “complex crisis which deserves a complex and holistic response’’.

She therefore advised the government of Nigeria to ensure that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees return voluntarily to their respective communities and that all necessary services are in place before their return.

According to her, the U.S. would continue supporting the Nigerian government and its people in their fight against terrorism and extremism.

“The UNSC support Nigeria in bringing peace back to the North Eastern Nigeria and the affected areas of the Lake Chad Basin region,” she added. (NAN)

IAA/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

UNDP, JAPAN empowers to returnee IDPs

UNDP, JAPAN empowers returnee IDPs

NAN-H-99

Support

Yola, Jan.11, 2017 ( NAN) The United Nations Development Programme with the support of Japanese Government has offered free unconditional grant and business entrepreneurship equipment to returnee Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa.

Ms Sally Musa, a UNDP Associate Programme, made this known in Yola on Thursday while distributing business entrepreneurship equipments to 118 victims affected by insurgency in Adamawa.

Musa said: “Today, we are continuing distribution of business entrepreneurship equipment to 118 vulnerable in the state who are among thousands affected by insurgency.

“The gesture is being funded by Japanese government but implemented by UNDP.

“The implementation of the programme is through partnership with the beneficiary state governments and Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning,” Musa said.

She said that under the programme 80 people benefited with special unconditional grant of N50,000 cash to enable them re-start business of their choice.

She explained that all the beneficiaries were intensively selected from the most hit seven local government areas of the state that include Madagali, Michika, Mubi North and South.

Others are Maiha, Song and Gombi, respectively.

The Deputy Governor of Adamawa, Mr Martins Babale, commended the donors for the assistance.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Madam Halima Manga from Madagali, also lauded the gesture.

The beneficiaries were given free different business equipments including hair dressing, sewing and clothes designing machines, among others. (NAN)

AMA/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola