• 2014 could be last year for virus, say Gates, Dangote
• Target multi-billion fund to boost healthcare in Nigeria
A PRIVATE sector health initiative has pledged to raise billions of naira within the next three years to boost
healthcare in the country. The Private sector Health Alliance Nigeria (PHN), which was launched Tuesday in Lagos, is headed by businessman Aliko Dangote and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill Gates is an inventor and founder of Microsoft while Dangote is Chairman, Dangote Foundation and President, Dangote Group. At a media briefing Tuesday to announce the alliance between the two foundations, the duo said they planned to work together and raise billions of naira to reduce preventable deaths by focusing on strengthening childhood immunisation programmes, eradicating polio, ensuring that women are able to seek healthcare during pregnancy, and improving access to primary healthcare.
They gave 2018 deadline to totally eradicate polio from Nigeria after stopping transmission by the end of 2014. The group said unrest and poor quality immunisation campaigns, and not refusal of vaccines, were the major threats to the country’s efforts to eradicate the disease.
The Dangote Group also announced plans to mark its 20th anniversary in January 2014 with the setting up of a multi-billion naira endowment fund that will cater for health, education, disaster management and relief, and unemployment issues.
Gates said: “… There was a big gathering yesterday (Monday) where everybody committed themselves, including the Nigerian government, to working together to officially finish polio by 2018. That means to do that, you have to have three years with absolutely no cases. So, I am very happy to see the President and others saying if we did a good job, 2014 could be the last year for the polio virus. “Our foundation does a lot of health work. We are very interested in routine immunisation. Some of what we saw at the primary healthcare centres, how vaccines are kept in the cold room and how the supplies are managed, are areas where we see room for improvement because the parents know that anytime they come in, their child will get the vaccines, then they come more.
“So, there is a lot to be done. So, it is exciting we are partnering Dangote Foundation for a lot of that work in Kano and we met with the governor and other people in the state and we heard about the progress they are making. So, it has been a very successful visit. I am glad to be here. I am very committed even beyond health. We are also working in agriculture, financial services and also eventually some sanitation things as well.”
Dangote said: “It is really very exciting and also a great pleasure to see Bill of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who has actually spent the last 48 hours, knowing how very busy he is going round the world. We really do appreciate having you here. He has actually done a lot in terms of even going to the Presidency to talk to them about their own counterpart-funding. So most of the time they release money, but we also have to push the government to release their own. We have had very excellent meetings with the Presidency, with the National Assembly. We met with the Speaker and all the leadership and we had an excellent meeting. We met with the minister of health and I think we Nigerians are really grateful for what Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been doing.
“They have been investing heavily in all the various sectors not only in the fight against polio. That is why we believe that some of us locally really have to partner him and assist. He cannot do everything in this whole world by himself. It is not just possible. So, we have to do our own bit to make sure that yes we assist in what he is doing and also give him that support. It is about logistics, it is about funding, it is about doing the right thing and I think we the locals have to help because he is not here all the time. He has a very good excellent team on ground and they are partnering our own team to make sure things are done right.
“As part of his own vision, he has actually helped to set up PHN, which we have already launched. The group includes former Minister of State for Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Jim Ovia, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, and myself. We are going to invite a lot of people; we are now trying to raise a lot of money and partner Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fight some of the health sector issues, especially immunisation and polio.
“You know Bill is very modest but he has done a lot. The good news is that the polio cases we had last year, which were 112, have actually dropped to 51. So, we are actually doing right. This means if we do our own side of it and push and do massive immunisation from November, December, January, February, by next year by the grace of God, we will be celebrating total eradication of polio. We need to give him all the support so that we can fulfil his dream to make sure that Nigeria is free of polio.”
Dangote added: “We are trying to raise fund for the total health sector not just for polio. And the amount of money we are going to raise. We are going to raise as much as possible in billions. There is no limit to what we are going to raise. Apart from the private sector health alliance, we will do our own bit.
“We as Dangote Group are going to do quite a lot. As a matter of fact, we are going to increase our own spending next year. Next year January, we will be celebrating 20th year of our foundation. We will be doing a very big endowment and when we get there, we will know what we will spend on health education, empowerment and relief for natural disasters.”
Gates and Dangote also paid Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola a courtesy visit and restated their commitment to the eradication of polio in Nigeria.
• Target multi-billion fund to boost healthcare in Nigeria
A PRIVATE sector health initiative has pledged to raise billions of naira within the next three years to boost
healthcare in the country. The Private sector Health Alliance Nigeria (PHN), which was launched Tuesday in Lagos, is headed by businessman Aliko Dangote and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill Gates is an inventor and founder of Microsoft while Dangote is Chairman, Dangote Foundation and President, Dangote Group. At a media briefing Tuesday to announce the alliance between the two foundations, the duo said they planned to work together and raise billions of naira to reduce preventable deaths by focusing on strengthening childhood immunisation programmes, eradicating polio, ensuring that women are able to seek healthcare during pregnancy, and improving access to primary healthcare.
They gave 2018 deadline to totally eradicate polio from Nigeria after stopping transmission by the end of 2014. The group said unrest and poor quality immunisation campaigns, and not refusal of vaccines, were the major threats to the country’s efforts to eradicate the disease.
The Dangote Group also announced plans to mark its 20th anniversary in January 2014 with the setting up of a multi-billion naira endowment fund that will cater for health, education, disaster management and relief, and unemployment issues.
Gates said: “… There was a big gathering yesterday (Monday) where everybody committed themselves, including the Nigerian government, to working together to officially finish polio by 2018. That means to do that, you have to have three years with absolutely no cases. So, I am very happy to see the President and others saying if we did a good job, 2014 could be the last year for the polio virus. “Our foundation does a lot of health work. We are very interested in routine immunisation. Some of what we saw at the primary healthcare centres, how vaccines are kept in the cold room and how the supplies are managed, are areas where we see room for improvement because the parents know that anytime they come in, their child will get the vaccines, then they come more.
“So, there is a lot to be done. So, it is exciting we are partnering Dangote Foundation for a lot of that work in Kano and we met with the governor and other people in the state and we heard about the progress they are making. So, it has been a very successful visit. I am glad to be here. I am very committed even beyond health. We are also working in agriculture, financial services and also eventually some sanitation things as well.”
Dangote said: “It is really very exciting and also a great pleasure to see Bill of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who has actually spent the last 48 hours, knowing how very busy he is going round the world. We really do appreciate having you here. He has actually done a lot in terms of even going to the Presidency to talk to them about their own counterpart-funding. So most of the time they release money, but we also have to push the government to release their own. We have had very excellent meetings with the Presidency, with the National Assembly. We met with the Speaker and all the leadership and we had an excellent meeting. We met with the minister of health and I think we Nigerians are really grateful for what Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been doing.
“They have been investing heavily in all the various sectors not only in the fight against polio. That is why we believe that some of us locally really have to partner him and assist. He cannot do everything in this whole world by himself. It is not just possible. So, we have to do our own bit to make sure that yes we assist in what he is doing and also give him that support. It is about logistics, it is about funding, it is about doing the right thing and I think we the locals have to help because he is not here all the time. He has a very good excellent team on ground and they are partnering our own team to make sure things are done right.
“As part of his own vision, he has actually helped to set up PHN, which we have already launched. The group includes former Minister of State for Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Jim Ovia, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, and myself. We are going to invite a lot of people; we are now trying to raise a lot of money and partner Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fight some of the health sector issues, especially immunisation and polio.
“You know Bill is very modest but he has done a lot. The good news is that the polio cases we had last year, which were 112, have actually dropped to 51. So, we are actually doing right. This means if we do our own side of it and push and do massive immunisation from November, December, January, February, by next year by the grace of God, we will be celebrating total eradication of polio. We need to give him all the support so that we can fulfil his dream to make sure that Nigeria is free of polio.”
Dangote added: “We are trying to raise fund for the total health sector not just for polio. And the amount of money we are going to raise. We are going to raise as much as possible in billions. There is no limit to what we are going to raise. Apart from the private sector health alliance, we will do our own bit.
“We as Dangote Group are going to do quite a lot. As a matter of fact, we are going to increase our own spending next year. Next year January, we will be celebrating 20th year of our foundation. We will be doing a very big endowment and when we get there, we will know what we will spend on health education, empowerment and relief for natural disasters.”
Gates and Dangote also paid Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola a courtesy visit and restated their commitment to the eradication of polio in Nigeria.
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