At Banjul Meeting, Nigeria’s First Lady Seeks Stronger Ties To Tackle Women’s Health Gaps

The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Remi Tinubu, has said that robust and positive collaborations and partnerships are viable sources of hope to families across Nigeria.

According to a statement by her media aide, Busola Kukoyi, Mrs Tinubu spoke at the 12th edition of the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Committee Meeting held in Banjul, The Gambia.

The First Lady, who reiterated some of the achievements of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), which she said continue to give hope to families across Nigeria, focusing on education, health, economic empowerment, social investment and agriculture.

“These programmes are to complement the efforts of the administration of my husband, his Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, towards a better life for the Nigerian families.

“In health, RHI has so far donated $2million dollars (naira equivalent) to support advocacy and treatment for cervical cancer tuberculosis as part of our commitment to eliminate both diseases by 2030 amongst other health interventions in collaboration with local and international partners.

“In education, we have provided annual scholarships to 47 indigent students in universities for three consecutive years.

“Additionally, 1,500 scholarships have been awarded to indigent students in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees,” she stated.

According to the First Lady, the collaborations and partnerships have continued to have success stories across the nook and crannies of Nigeria.

She commended the CEO of Merck Foundation, Senator Rasha Kelej, for the various interventions of the Foundation which included 14 scholarships for a one year diploma in fertility and embryology and two year master’s degree in sexual and reproductive care, women’s health and family medicine to Nigerian doctors.

The interventions also included 40 scholarships for one year diploma and two year masters degree in diabetes and endocrinology preventive cardiovascular, cardiology and obesity and weight management, three scholarships for oncology research, medical oncology and pain management.

Senator Tinubu expressed the hope that the collaboration could be expanded.

The meeting had various First Ladies from African countries, including the host, The Gambia, São Tomé, Central African Republic, Burundi and Senegal speak about various interventions as regards women and children’s health and education.

The Merck Foundation and the Renewed Hope Initiative both have shared vision for a healthier, better educated and more empowered Nigeria, in particular and Africa as a whole.