Nigeria’s healthcare is poised for a boost after the Federal Government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and General Electrical (GE) Healthcare signed a N3.5bn ($20m) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the sector.
The initiative is spread over five years.
It is expected to draw on the competencies, capabilities and know-how of the partners to bring funding, technology and expertise in training and education with a view to developing unique solutions to the country’s primary healthcare infrastructure and helping build capacity for maternal and infant care.
Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu, with whom were Mr. Michael Harvey of USAID and Farid Fezoula of GE Healthcare Africa, told reporters in Abuja yesterday that a scheme- Healthymagination Mother and Child- will emerge from the partnership specifically to tackle maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria.
He said: ”While Nigeria still comprises a large share of the world’s burden of child and maternal morbidity, mortality in Nigeria has seen a 38% reduction to 78% deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012.
“This positive trends are indicative of the Nigerian government’s genuine commitment and sustained investment for maternal and newborn health, where notable progress has been made over the past few years.”
USAID Nigeria Mission Director, Michael Harvey, said the agency is committed to promoting and supporting stronger governance, finance and human development.
He also hinted that the initiative has the potential to improve the health and wellbeing of the population.
“The reality that we know today is unacceptable and heartbreaking as nearly 300,000 mothers and three million newborns continue to die every year from causes we know how to prevent,” he said.
President, GE Healthcare Africa, Farid Fezoua, said the challenges facing Nigeria and other countries in Africa are much more than equipment. More crucial ,according to him,are training and skills enhancement.
“At GE, we recognize that it takes all different perspectives and contributions to solve a problem and when you consider Africa’s vast healthcare challenges, medical equipment alone is not enough,” Fezoua said .