By Solomon Attah
An international donor, Health Partners International of Canada has donated essential drugs and medical facilities worth millions of naira to cater for the health need of Internally Displaced Persons and other vulnerable groups in Nasarawa State.
The medical facilities which was handed over to the authority of Nasarawa State Hospital Management Board, was in collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons and the Islamic Society of Eggonland.
The donation, which was specifically channelled to the Nasarawa Eggon Local Government General Hospital, was to ensure that low income earners, and those who could not afford medical bills benefit from the gesture.
Ahmed Bolori, the representative of Health Partners International Canada said, as a humanitarian organisation, they are committed to providing access to medicine and enhancing health of vulnerable persons in developing countries.
Bolori said: “Health Partners International has intervened in the health sector of so many countries across the globe, particularly, those people with special needs; downtrodden, IDPs, less privilege and those with low income and those who cannot afford medical bills.
“Annually, this organisation has been reaching out by improving the lives of one million people across the globe, and in Nigeria alone, the intervention has cut across few states of Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, of which the interventions drugs and other medical services is worth at least $1 million.
He added that, the organisation also distributed over one thousand wheelchair to people with disabilities in the country.
According to the representative of the donor, Nasarawa State was the first state in the North Central to receive such gesture for IDPs and less privilege people from health partners International.
Bolori, who accessed the situation of the people as critical, said in few weeks time, they are coming with more interventions to improve the lives of the people.
He said, statistics has shown that about 2 billion out of the over seven billion people in the world today cannot purchase essential medication for themselves even when faced with life-threatening ailments, hence why they decided to ameliorate their plights in that direction.
“Globally, there are at least over 2 billion people that cannot afford medications, and Nigeria been a country with a population of 213 million, we record a lot of people who need such type of interventions.
“And this partnership is something that we hope will continue to benefit more people,” Bolori said.
He commended the Islamic Society of Eggonland for always working towards bringing succour to the less-privileged in the community, saying their services was in line with the objectives of the Health Partners International Canada.
Bello Mohammed Bello, acting director, Human Resources in the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons who stood in for the Federal Commissioner, Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, said, the commission places premium on issues that concerns the health of the less privileged in the society.
He appreciated the organisations for their contributions for making life more convenient for the IDPs and less privileged, assuring that, the Commission will continue to play its part to bring relief to those who have found themselves in unfortunate situations.
Bello then appealed to the management of the General Hospital Nassarawa Eggon to ensure the drugs actually get to those they are meant for.
Hamza Ibrahim, the Special Adviser to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Humanitarian Services, who recounted how the organisations entered into partnership, said the government will not relent in its effort to better the lives of IDPs and migrants.
He said: “I am very happy because I was the one that engineered this partnership. I came to Nassarawa Eggon about six years ago and I interacted with Umar, the ISE General Secretary. He took me round and also told me about the activities of the Islamic Society of Eggonland.
“When we went round, we saw the situation of some IDPs here and from the discussions we had with them, we wrote a report and took it to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons. With that, we were able to get a little intervention which was distributed to the people.
“After that, I still informed the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons on the activities of the ISE which led to the commission inviting these partners from Canada.”
He assured the people of Nassarawa Eggon that there were even more interventions and collaborations underway.
Amingbo Wuya, director, Medical Services at the Nasarawa State Hospitals Management Board, who received the items on behalf of the Chief Medical Director, appreciated the intervention by the Health Partners International Canada.
He said, such interventions are very timely as quality healthcare is getting more expensive and out of the reach of the common man.
He said there was need for more spirited individuals and organisations to come in to alleviate the sufferings of the people while assuring the donor that the drugs will be used judiciously.
He said: “The Hospitals Management Board shall oversee the affairs of General Hospital Nassarawa Eggon and ensure prudent use of the drugs supplied by the Health Partners International Canada.
“We will make sure that the drugs reach those target populations and also ensure that records are kept and only those who deserve to be given the drugs will be administered.
“Records will be kept so that we will account for each tablet that is given to us, each injection that is in our custody.”
The Nasarawa State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mohammed Lawal Yakubu, thanked to the health partners international for using their resources to invest on the lives of the people, through providing humanitarian services.
He assured the partners that, with the Islamic Society of Eggonland and the management of General Hospital Nasarawa Eggon, he is confident that the drugs and medical facilities will be properly utilised.
Yakubu then appealed for more support from the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons especially in providing housing for the IDPs as that will go a long way in making their lives better.
Earlier, General Secretary of the Islamic Society of Eggonland, Umar Abdullahi Galle said the ISE has as its main objective, service to God and humanity and that is why its activities aim to touch the lives of the less-privileged in the society.
He appreciated the Health Partners International Canada (HPIC) and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons for enriching the activities of the ISE through their various interventions and prayed for God to provide more resources so that more interventions can be done for the people.
