Governors of some northern states and the Dangote Foundation, yesterday sealed a partnership deal worth $100million (N19.7billion) with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) towards ending malnutrition in Nigeria within the next five years.
The agreement was sealed in Abuja by the President Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who signed on behalf of the Dangote Foundation while Mr. Bill Gates signed on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The agreement was witnessed by members of the international community as well as top officials of government such as the Ministers of Health, Education, Agriculture, Planning and Budgeting.
Speaking on the motivation behind the agreement, Dangote said despite its rapid economic growth, Nigeria was still ranked as the second country in the world with high rate of under nutrition.
He said more worrisome is the fact that the country has also been rated as the second highest in terms of stunted growth owing to malnutrition.
He said currently, there were about 11 million children in Nigeria experiencing under nutrition with the North East and North West region accounting for the highest percentage of under nourished children.
He said owing to its vital role in child health, growth and cognitive development, better nutrition would be essential towards unlocking the potentials of the next generation of Nigeria.
He said, “Over the past few months, Dangote Foundation has gone through a strategy revision exercise and we arrived at a conclusion that the biggest challenge confronting us as we work at reducing childhood death is reducing the level of malnutrition in Nigeria.
“Globally, Nigeria has the second highest level of acute malnutrition rate at 13 per cent and at least five of all the children under the age trove years that died in Nigeria do so as a result of malnutrition.
“Stunting which is chronic malnutrition is the second highest in the world which is about 37 per cent.
“We have to ensure that children who are already malnourished receive help and are prevented from dying while we improve the conditions that led to them being malnourished in the first place.”
In his address, Gates said the agreement would enable the two foundations to begin a joint process that would strengthen the collaboration within the next five years.
He said programs that would be implemented under the pact would include community based approaches and proven interventions linked to behavioral change, fortification of staple foods with essential micronutrients and community management of a cure malnutrition investment in the local production of nutritious foods.
He said one of the key objective would be to improve the livelihoods o households by supporting nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs that can increase family income, improve diets and empower women and youth.
Gates said, “Nutrition is one of the highest impact investments we can make in Nigeria’s future growth and prosperity.
Meanwhile, in a ceremony at the Kaduna State Government House, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, chair of the Dangote Foundation; Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, joined governors from Kaduna, Sokoto, Yobe, and Borno to launch an ambitious new partnership committing political and financial resources to strengthen and sustain routine immunization programmes that will save more lives and keep Nigeria polio-free.
The witnessing of new the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) served as an opportunity to review successes and lessons learned from existing programmes in Kano and Bauchi states.
To extend these efforts, the executive governor of Kano State signed a fourth-year extension to the state’s existing MoU.
Speaking for the Federal Government, Health Minister, Professor Isaac Adewole, congratulated the states and partners for making a significant investment in immunization.
“These are tough financial times in Nigeria, but the health of children cannot wait. The country has an ambitious plan to introduce new life-saving vaccines over the next several years, and today’s commitments will ensure we can get those vaccines to the children who need them most,” the minister said.
Through the MoUs, the governors commit to effective governance, leadership, and financial accountability to reduce child illness and death from diseases such as measles, pertussis, and hepatitis through increased routine immunization in their respective states.
The other partners will bring the financial and technical support needed to operationalize the programme. All signatories pledged to improve routine immunization coverage in northern Nigeria systematically and sustainably, where vaccine coverage rates are low.
“These agreements strengthen our partnerships with Nigerian states working to provide health services to all their citizens,” said Dangote, adding that, “Building on their recent success in eliminating polio from the region, Nigerian governors have and will continue to play a vital role in establishing a legacy of sustained commitment to routine immunization.”
The objective of the MoUs is to reach 80 per cent of the target population in the signing states with the necessary life-saving vaccines by December 2018 to prevent common childhood diseases and ensure a polio-free environment.
“These commitments will improve immunization coverage and help provide reliable health services in Nigeria. The states will be able to reap the full return on their investment through the number of lives improved and saved, and communities will remain protected from vaccine-preventable diseases for years to come,” said Gates, insisting that, “Nigeria’s governors have the opportunity to build health systems strong enough to stop future outbreaks.”
“These MoUs offer the model platform to capitalize on the prospects of evidence-based approaches. Results will include stronger systems for immunizations, equal access to routine immunization services, and building capacity for Nigerian states to lead in developing solutions for its people,” said Entwistle.