Aliko Dangote Foundation, in collaboration with Kano State Government, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on routine immunization, RI, in the state.
The MoU was first signed in 2012, when Aliko Dangote Foundation, Kano State Government and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation decided to work towards the improvement of health of women and children in Kano, the second most populous state in the country.
Appraising the success of the first MoU, the three parties also signed a second addendum in 2017 in a bid to improve on the goal earlier achieved.
However, the third Health MoU signing, this time around, has witnessed the involvement of UNICEF as the fourth participating party in the agreement.
Speaking shortly before the official signing of the MoU on Wednesday, at the Kano State government house, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Zouera Yousefou, congratulated the Kano state government for achieving the objectives of the addendum ll.
Mrs Yousefou commended the state government for its efforts to sustain funding for all RI activities, thereby increasing the state’s RI budget by 22 per cent over the past 6 years, despite challenges to the fiscal space.
The MD/CEO also noted with the signing of the third addendum, it is important to note that while the parties have made a lot of progress together, they remain far from achieving the target maternal and child health outcomes.
“We need to ensure that we use the lessons learned from the prior years to develop and effectively execute better-suited strategies that ensure we fast-track progress and ultimately achieve the Health MoU addendum lll’s targets.
“One such area of improvement is the need to devolve the programme’s oversight to lower levels and ensure LGA health teams are responsible for driving implementation across the wards in their LGA.
“Wr need to ensure that our health teams at LGA and Ward levels have the autonomy and resources they need to deliver within their specific contexts while holding them accountable for the results,” she said
Mrs Yousefou also urged traditional rulers to remain tireless in their efforts to ensure the people take demand and utilize essential health services, including immunization, nutrition and maternal and reproductive health services.
The MD/CEO applauded the efforts of the Kano State government and encourage the administration to continue to improve its performance by ensuring the timely release of funds for both RI and PHC activities.
She restates the commitment of the Aliko Dangote Foundation to supporting Kano in ensuring all residents live a long and healthy life.
In his remarks, the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the state had achieved a significant milestone in healthcare services to the citizenry.
According to him, his administration had not rested on its ores on repositioning the health sector in the state, though improvement of primary and secondary health facilities, as we as the provision of qualified personnel to manage them.
Ganduje noted that the signing of the health MoU addendum lll is a testimony to the commitment of the state toward the improvement of healthcare services.
He assured the state’s promptness in donating counter funds in a bid to achieve the success of the programme.
Speaking earlier, the Country Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jeremie Zoungrana expressed delight to witness the signing of the MoU.
He said the event was the perfect opportunity to implement new and advanced programmes in the area of RI, noting that Kano state had the potential to do better in that regard.
“With its commitment, technical, capacity and resources at its disposal, I believe Kano State has the potential to do better
“We will be committed to making sure that this addendum lll will help in addressing the key issues raised during the review meeting.
“We will contribute our own quota to the improvement of health care in Kano State,” he said.
Mr Zoungrana urged the Kano State government to ensure the timely release of resources for the success of the programme.
It was learned that each party would be contributing the sum of N185 million annually for the five years duration of the programme.
