By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The FCT Minister, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike on behalf of the FCT Administration, the Susan- Buffett Foundation and the Ministry of Health have struck a deal to improve Primary Health Care, PHC, services in the Territory.
Wike made this known when the Minister of Health, Dr Ali Pate, the Vice President for Global Programmes at the Susan-Buffett Foundation, Prof. Seniat Fisseha and the Executive Secretary, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Muyi Aina paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.
Wike emphasized that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s health initiative which is centered on improving population health outcome stating that the FCT Administration would be delighted to partner with the Susan Buffett Foundation to improve primary healthcare provision in the FCT, especially in the area of maternal health services.
Wike said, “We are delighted and we want to partner with you. We are ready to move together to see that this is achieved. I thank God that Mr President has approved the initiative, so it would be a statewide thing. So, we will take it up from here. The issue of maternal health is very key to us, so we sincerely welcome you.”
Speaking earlier, the Vice President for Global Programmes at the Susan Buffett Foundation, Prof. Seniat Fisseha informed the FCT Minister that the foundation is particularly interested in collaborating with the FCT Administration in ending preventable maternal death.
Prof. Fisseha, who stated that although has one of the largest maternal mortalities in the world, said that the Foundation is ready to deploy resources in the FCT Healthcare system in order to score significant gains in the short term.
She said, “In the meantime, we’ve seen that the talent is there, the commitment is there. If we deploy the right resources, we can score significant gains in a short time. So, we are very interested in collaborating with the Minister of the sector and the Minister of the FCT to drive change for our people.”
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had approved an action driven programme under the Presidential Health Initiative to improve population health outcome and assist in driving the medical industrialization agenda of the President.
Furthermore, the Susan-Buffett Foundation indicated interest in partnering with the government of Nigeria to advance the health and wellbeing of all, including adolescent girls and women.
