MTN Foundation, through its ‘What We Can Do Together Project,’ has doled out over N1 billion to remodel 40 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in the country.
The MTN What We Can Do Together Project is a community based ‘give back’ initiative where members of the public nominate selected projects to be implemented in particular communities by MTN Foundation.
The Initiative started in September 2015 and community-based projects have been successfully implemented in 586 communities across 530 Local Government Areas (LGAs), under four phases. In the fifth phase of the project, which commences in 2023, members of the public are expected to nominate PHCs in their various communities, of which the top 40 will be selected for remodeling.
The executive secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, at a press conference on Monday, in Lagos, said there are 30,000 PHCs in Nigeria, adding that less than 25 per cent of them are functioning.
In the fifth phase of the MTN What We Can Do Together Project, the Foundation planned to upgrade and supply medical equipment and consumables to 40 PHCs; install solar powered boreholes in each PHC and install solar powered hybrid solution in each PHC, Sanya revealed.
From inception to date, Sanya disclosed that MTN Foundation has invested about N25 billion on different projects, adding that, for the fifth phase of the project, the Foundation will be investing over N1 billion to ensure that Nigerians at the community level, have access to quality healthcare services.
The executive secretary however called on more corporate organisations to come into the space. “As we are doing this to impact lives, we are creating a playbook for others to come in as well. We are remodeling 40 PHCs today, another organization can also come in by remodeling like 100 PHCs. In doing so, we will be making more impacts,” she stated.
In his remark, a director of MTN Foundation, Mr Dennis Okoro said, this initiative is a way of investing in the Nigerian society and improving the lives of Nigerians, adding that, “Development is not just about constructing roads, skyscrapers or building flyover bridges, it is also about impacting the lives of market women who sit on the streets, selling banana and groundnut. What we are doing here is building a human centered project. I am calling on other organisations to follow suit.”
In the same vein, the MD/CEO, Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, Dr Tinuola Akinbolagbe, applauded MTN Foundation for improving the health outcomes of Nigerians, while appealing to the organized private sector in Nigeria to follow suit.
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