The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network is launching an Emergency media support fund to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on journalists.
Through this fund we aim to increase cooperation between journalists in the region and their knowledge and skills through joint cooperation on cross-border investigative stories.
The stories should be original, evidence-based and rich in context, showing new or broader insights into the region.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Health, Professor Adenike Grange has blamed the Nigerian governments at all levels for the poor health care delivery system in the country.
Delivering a keynote speech at the 19th Professor Bassey Andah Memorial Lecture at weekend, Professor Grange said short life expectancy caused by high infant and maternal mortality rate is one of the major challenges facing the country’s healthcare delivery system.
Wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, says continuous investment in health care infrastructure is one of the ways by which the government can tackle the high rate of maternal and newborn mortality in the country.
She, however, added that the task could not be left to the government alone, stressing that private partnership was also very key.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday presented medical equipment worth about N30 million for 60 health facilities in Kogi.
Dr Alobo Gabriel, the State Team Leader for Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), disclosed this while handing over the equipment to the State Ministry of Health.
Gabriel said that the equipment would be distributed to 45 primary healthcare centres, five training health institutions, and 10 hospitals across the state.
The United Nations Children’s Fund in partnership with the European Union have presented health equipment and other materials worth 1.2 billion naira to the Adamawa State Government.
The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi, Abdulai Kaikai says the measure is in line with the second phase of the E.U., UNICEF, Federal Government Maternal New-born and Child Health project.
He says the project also covers Bauchi and Kebbi States, and in Adamawa State, it is being implemented in 226 Primary Health Care facilities in 21 Local Government Areas.
NIGERIA has restated its commitment towards ensuring access of women to family planning services and commodities with a pledge to achieve a modern contraceptive rate of 27 per cent among all women by 2020.
Nigeria also committed to increasing its annual allocation for contraceptives from $3 million to $4 million while ensuring total disbursement of $56 million to the states through participation in the Global Financing Facility and international development assistance loans.
The Wellbeing Foundation Africa and its Founder and President Toyin Ojora-Saraki participated in the Family Planning Summit 2017 in London, United Kingdom from Monday 10 July to Tuesday 11 July.
The summit was organised by the United Nations Population Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department of International Development to discuss efforts to reach Family Planning 2020 goals and ensure that around the world women and girls are better able to plan their families and their futures.
Nigeria has increased its funding to commitments for expanding access to family planning for millions of women and girls worldwide to four million dollars.
The Health Minister, Professor Isaac Adewole made this declaration at the Family Planning Summit in London, United Kingdom, where more than 60 governments and partners pledged commitments of at least $2.5 billion.
Professor Adewole said Nigeria’s commitment will go a long way in reaching thousands of women and girls with critical reproductive health information.
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a Canadian government agency , says it is contributing 2.6m Canadian dollars ($1.9m) to the funding of a maternal and child health programme in Nigeria and in five other West African countries – Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Benin and Burkina Faso.
The Edo state government received federal government’s $1.5 million “Save a Million lives” intervention fund to the state.
Governor Godwin Obaseki the commended the federal government for releasing the money when he hosted the Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, at Government House in Benin on Saturday.
He said the fund, geared toward improving maternal and child health, would be judiciously used in the state.
