Nigeria secures $600,000 for flood relief, health, agric reforms — Nigeria — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News
MP seeks help at ECOWAS Parliament
Nigeria has secured a $600,000 relief fund and commitments from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to hasten relief efforts for victims of devastating floods, and health and agricultural sectors’ reforms.
Specifically, the Foundation pledged $600,000 for flood relief in Borno State and other health sector initiatives, with an additional $5 million grant approved for Lagos Business School and partners to develop the agricultural economics of industrial cassava.
The donation was announced when Vice President Kashim Shettima held a meeting with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, led by its Head of Global Development Programme, Dr Christopher Elias, on the sidelines of the ongoing 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Shettima reaffirmed the commitment of the administration to placing health, nutrition, and agricultural development at the forefront of the nation’s national agenda.
“We are deeply committed to addressing the pressing developmental challenges facing our nation, particularly the significant malnutrition crisis,” Shettima stated. He emphasised the Nigerian government’s dedication to integrity and effective leadership in tackling the issues, pointing out that there was urgency in securing locations for maize production under the Telemaze programme.
Promising swift action on import permits for certified seeds, the Vice President said: “We recognise the critical importance of food security and industrial agricultural development. The Cassava Accelerator programme, in particular, holds immense potential for our economy.
“We are pursuing a whole-of-government approach to digitisation and data exchange systems, which, we believe, will revolutionise our public services.” In his remarks, the President of the Global Development Programme at the Gates Foundation, Dr Christopher Elias, said the Foundation was deeply worried about the severe flooding in Borno, and was committed to supporting Nigeria in times of crisis.
The Foundation also pledged support for Nigeria’s health sector reforms, particularly in the fight against polio. “We’re impressed by the national task force’s efforts to eliminate variant polioviruses by year-end,” Dr. Elias noted.
The Director of the Nigeria Country Office at the Gates Foundation, Uche Amaonwu, expressed appreciation for the ongoing partnership, highlighting a $60 million investment in sector-wide programmes and collaborations on reproductive health issues.
MEANWHILE, a Nigerian Member of Parliament (MP) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) has cried to the regional Legislature to assist Borno State in addressing the recent flood disaster in the state.
The MP, Zainab Gimba, made the plea at a press conference during the induction training for members of the 6th Legislature at the ongoing 2024 Third Extraordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament in Lome, Togo.
Stressing that Borno’s economy was being threatened by the effects of the floods, she said: “Borno State is the fifth largest non-oil and gas economy in Nigeria with an estimated gross product of £5.175 billion. The effects of the floods have adversely affected the growth and development of trade and commerce in the region and it is important to draw the attention of the ECOWAS Parliament.”
According to Gimba, the floods had displaced over two million households with an estimated number of deaths running into hundreds of people as thousands have lost their homes and livelihoods in a region already facing food insecurity following protracted periods of terrorism and violent extremism.
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