L-R. Dr Farouk Jega, Fmr Senior Program Director/Portfolio Lead ; Mrs Asma’u Smaila, IHS Towers ; Dr Amina Dorayi, Country Director, Pathfinder International Nigeria ; Mrs Olamide Oyelade, Finance and Admin Manager, Pathfinder International Nigeria during the handover and signing of partnership between Pathfinder International and IHS Towers.
Pathfinder International, a global non-profit organisation, has partnered with IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of IHS Towers, to provide ten refurbished generators to health care facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and Borno State.
According to a statement released to Nigerian Newssphere on Monday, the generators are expected to support the provision of healthcare services, such as reproductive, maternal and child health services.
In her words, Country Director Pathfinder International Nigeria, Dr. Amina Aminu Dorayi, said, “Healthcare facilities are life support systems in times of crisis and other healthcare needs,
“Due to the intermittent power supply in Nigeria, an alternative power source is needed to keep life support machines and other healthcare tools working to sustain human lives”.
She added that across the country, many primary healthcare centres rely on alternate sources of power supply. In some rural areas, healthcare workers depend on torchlight or light from their mobile phones at night due to less reliable power supply from the national grid.
Dr Amina stated that the donation is the latest in Pathfinder International’s efforts at strengthening both community and healthcare systems to deliver high-quality sexual and reproductive health services. In addition, Pathfinder International continues to work to ensure that those services are responsive to the needs of vulnerable communities. The recipient centres were selected by the governments of Borno State and the FCT based on needs.
She emphasised that through IHS Nigeria’s support, Pathfinder International is helping healthcare facilities address their current power generation gaps by donating generators to specific institutions.
“This donation is timely as we strive to strengthen the delivery of primary care services across the country, a critical step towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage,” Dr Dorayi added.
In his response, the CEO, IHS Nigeria, Mohamad Darwish, said, “Healthcare is an important component of human life, and this, to a large extent, influences the growth and development of local communities. At IHS Nigeria, we believe we have a responsibility to support the government of Nigeria and the communities that host our towers. We hope this donation will help contribute towards larger efforts to deliver more sustainable healthcare in Nigeria.”
“This is a new dawn for the staff and management of Yerwa Maternal and Child Health facility. The power issue was long overdue, and I want to thank Pathfinder International and IHS Towers for their benevolence. This will improve our work and the quality of care in our facility”, Officer-in-Charge, Yerwa Maternal and Child Health Facility, Maiduguri, Borno state, Yagana A. Modu said.
Whether it is through direct implementation of technical programs, the building of expertise and knowledge, or the engagement of communications that can change opinions and encourage investment, Pathfinder believes the corporate sector has a role to ensure that people in communities can access essential health services regardless of where they live.
Ms Martha Dikko, Officer-in-Charge, Dakwa-Dantata PHC, Abuja, Ms Martha Dikko remarked, “This generator is so big! I am sure it will ease our work especially during delivery time that happens mostly at night, and in the storage of vaccines in the facility. We are immensely grateful”.
All the generators have been delivered and installed at the selected healthcare centres. IHS Nigeria will also support the facilities by servicing, fueling and maintaining the generators for a one-year period.
Supported by TAConnect, Pathfinder International is currently providing technical assistance to the Borno state government on Group Antenatal Care to improve sustained uptake and quality of well-integrated RMNCH services, including prevention of malaria in pregnancy and early detection and treatment of malaria. Through its Access Project in FCT Abuja, Pathfinder International, with funding from MacArthur Foundation is advancing COVID-19 mitigation and recovery by curbing vaccine hesitancy, improving equitable access to quality vaccine services, and strengthening accountability mechanisms for vaccine delivery.