By Asma’u Ahmad
Kano State Government, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tuesday , to boost healthcare delivery in the state.
It was reported that the MoU tagged: “Health Basket Fund” was designed to strengthen child health and address issues of maternal mortality in the state.
Our correspondent report that the two foundations had in 2012 signed a similar MoU with the state government on strategic eradication of Polio Mellitus in Kano, which ran between 2012 and 2015, but was further extended to 2016.
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, while signing the MoU in Kano, said the tripartite agreement would address the issue of maternal mortality and child related issues.
Governor Ganduje said his administration would inject N350 million into the programme as counterpart funding, adding that the agreement would last for five years.
Speaking through a Video Conference, Mr. Bill Gates, monitored at the ceremony, commended the state government on the success of routine immunisation and called for improvement.
Bill Gates said that his foundation was determined to eradicate polio and other related diseases in Nigeria, Africa and the world in general through partnership with various states and countries.
In his remarks, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, thanked the Gates Foundation for its commitment to polio eradication and commended the efforts of the traditional rulers and other stakeholders in fighting the scourge.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, said that the two foundations would contribute 40 per cent each to the programme, while the state government would contribute 20 per cent.
