The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NGO

  • NGO to address blood shortage

    A Pentecostal church, High Life Church, has launched a non-governmental organisation (NGO), LifeBlood Nigeria, to address the gap in the quantity of blood supplied in the country.

    According to the church, a research by LifeBlood shows that Nigeria collects only 38 percent of the required blood each year.

    The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS), Dr Modupe Olaiya, who was represented by Dr Samuel Alori, launched the NGO in Lagos on June 14,  the World Blood Donor (WBD) Day.

    Olaiya said blood transfusion was an essential component of healthcare, adding: “To achieve safe and adequate supply of blood, donation must be voluntary and regular. In line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, blood donations must come from voluntary donors and all blood donations should be screened for infections prior to use.”

    Olaiya listed some of the enduring challenges in blood transfusion in Nigeria to include sub-optimal recruitment and retention of voluntary; non-remunerated blood donors due to wrong cultural belief and lack of awareness surrounding the issue as well as the dependence on family replacement and commercial blood donors.

    She said Lagos State Government established the LSBTC in June 2004 to regulate blood transfusion services in the state under the supervision of the state’s Ministry of Health.

    The vision, according to her, was to have a state where only safe blood is transfused in all appropriate health facilities; the mission was to provide safe blood through the recruitment of voluntary blood donors, the screening of every unit of blood for transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs), and the efficient processing of blood for all who require it.

    She said all blood transfused in public and private hospitals in Lagos must carry the logo of the LSBTC to show that the blood has been screened for TTIs.

    She commended LifeBlood Nigeria initiative and praised High Life Church for an excellent start with voluntary blood donation.

    The executive secretary also commended the global nature of the campaign, saying that LifeBlood’s goals were achievable.

    Pastor Carlton Williams of High Life Church enjoined the congregation and well-wishers to change the world, saying that the understanding of the church’s role in society must change.

    According to Pastor Williams, “The era of mere doctrinal purity is past. The time of limiting our expression of Christ to just understanding the plan of God for an individual’s life is past. This is the day when nations are impacted by the structures of the kingdom through you and me.”

    He continued: “The church is going to get into spaces that we are not known for. The church must shine with potent sustainable solutions that save lives and solve problems in education, business, media, arts and entertainment, government and all manifestations of religious life.”

    Also at the event was Mrs. Tosin Osofisan, the Donor Care Manager of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), Abeokuta Centre.

  • NGO drums support for anti-sexual abuse bill

    The Dream Project for Africa (DPA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is drumming support for the anti-sexual harassment bill in higher institutions being sponsored by the lawmaker representing Delta Central, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

    The bill, which is being co-sponsored by 46 other senators, seeks to prohibit sexual relationship between lecturers and students of higher institutions. It prescribes a five-year jail term for lecturers, who sexually abuse students.

    DPA’s Chief Executive Officer Oluwabukola Nelson led members of the NGO to a meeting with Senator Omo-Agege in Abuja, during which he expressed optimism that the bill, if passed into law, would help to sanitise academic environment and pave the way for students to compete favourably among themselves.

    Nelson said: “One of the inhuman things we do in this country is that, we leave the vulnerable to defend themselves. Nigerians deserve more when it comes to the quality of life. I urge that we generate more publicity around this bill so that we can create a better future for the generation coming by injecting the best minds into our academic institutions.”

    After the meeting, the NGO held a press conference to present the report of its project tagged: End sexual harassment and bribery in Nigerian colleges.  The project, it was said, created awareness on incidents of rape and bribery on campuses, which led to massive goal-oriented activities by advocacy groups, government officials and individuals, who felt the need to stop corruption in schools.

    A new campaign tagged: Influence tax payments and provisions of security to improve national and individual wealth was also unveiled at the conference.

  • NGO seeks sex education topics in curriculum

    A Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in Akure, Ondo State, Hope for Family Development Initiative (HFDI), has urged both the Federal and state governments to introduce sex education in the curriculum of both primary and secondary schools.

    An official of the NGO, Mrs Abiola Olarinre, spoke while addressing some female secondary school pupils during a sensitization workshop.

    She stressed the need for proper monitoring of all female children by their parents, especially during their adolescent stage, to avoid exposure to bad behaviours associated with their age. She also called on teachers to guide the female students under their watch to avoid immoral acts and juvenile delinquencies. Mrs Olarinre who cautioned female students against pre-marital sex, warned of many dangers inherent in such act.

     

  • NGO canvasses for vocational education at grassroot

    NGO canvasses for vocational education at grassroot

    A Kogi State-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Dove Love Foundation, has called on the Federal Government to give more attention to vocational education and skill acquisition in school curriculum in the rural areas.

    Its president, Mrs Agnes Achimugu, made the call during the graduation of vocational trainees sponsored by the foundation, at Oguma, headquarters of Bassa local government.

    She said adequate attention was not being paid to rural dwellers in schools’ curricular.

    Improvement in human development was imperative for economic, she said, development stressing that vocational training remains integral to national development.

    Her words: “The progress of this country lies in the productivity of its citizens and I venture to stress that vocational education holds the key. Unfortunately, previous governments at all levels did not accord this model a deserving attention.

    “Vocational education, especially for rural women, is highly recommended because on successful completion of such a programme, the  graduand becomes not only employable, but she also becomes  an employer. Vocational education makes beneficiaries, especially the women, to develop self-confidence and become self-reliant”.

    The Aguma of Bassa Kingdom, Chief Williams Keke Jimba, praised the President and Founder of the Dove Love Foundation, Mrs Agness Achimugu for touching the lives of the vunerables in his community, adding that the NGO was doing a wonderful job in the society

    He noted that the group was there on 31 October, 2014 “when she paid school fees for 30 secondary school pupils and “pledged to train at least 10 vulnerable people in our area”.

    He called on the federal and state governments to partner with the NGOs in the fignt againtws poverty which he noted was still ravaging the rural communities with women and the physically challenged persons at receiving end.

    He urged the parents to always strive to ensure that their wards acquire better education, particularly girl-child education, for the development of their communities and the state in general

    Former member of the Kogi State House of Assembly and former chairman of Bassa Local Government, Alhaji Suleiman Adakeke also advocated for girl-child education, even as he lauded the efforts of the NGO which single handedly trained the young girls, including two physical challenged ones.

    He stressed that the the Dove Love Foundation has challenged the men folk to devise means of tackling poverty by empowering all the vulnerable ones to alleviate poverty in society.

    He called on political office holders in Bassa and others in Kogi State to help to reduce the high prevalent of poverty in the areas.

    He advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the the working tools provided for them to uplift their standard of living, and congratulated them for the successful completion of the skill acquisition and training programme.

    Some of the beneficiaries, including Paulina Gwatana, Yin Dangagra, Ruth Job, Grace Mohammed, Mulikatu Gwatana, Muritala Sherifat, Shaibu Rahmat, Kashe Jimba, Gbaje Patience and Nefisat Suleiman, took turns to express appreciation for the opportunity, saying they will make good use of it.

    The foundation, according to the promoters, has trained over 200 rural women in various skill acquisition programmes, providing them with working equipments for self-reliance.

    Speaking on behalf of the parents and guardians, Mr. Rufai Mustapha hailed the foundation for impacting positively on the people of the area, particularly those in the lower economic strata.

  • NGO spends over N50m on Abuja indigent patients

    Surgical Aid Foundation, a non-governmental orga-nisation (NGO), has spent over N50 million in the last four years to assist less privileged patients undergo Minimal Access Surgery (MAS) in Abuja.

    MAS uses tiny instruments, sometimes the one that is like a puncture needle to perform surgical operations with less bleeding and pain on patients. The patients go back home the same day after the surgery.

    The NGO had earlier dedicated one week to perform surgical operations on patients with various kinds of ailments including kidney stone.

    Speaking at a lecture on MAS organised by Surgical Aid Foundation in partnership with Kelena Hospital, an Abuja-based urologists, Undieh Kelena, disclosed that MAS is the current trend of performing surgical operations globally.

    The Foundation, according to him, is also partnering with the hospital to train young doctors on how to perform the minimal access surgery.

    “Basically, the purpose of the programme is to bring expensive, high tech surgical procedure to the general population who cannot afford this surgery. The NGO underwrites and pay some of the bills for them and those who have been waiting for a long time and could not have the money are able to benefit from the high-tech surgeries.

    “We also use the opportunity to show younger doctors who don’t have the experience in this area what the surgeries are all about and they can join us in the hospital to learn from what we are doing.

    “We are also trying to explain to Nigerians that some of the things they travel abroad to do may not be necessary because they are now available in the country,” he said.

    He also said the gesture will help curb medical tourism, which has been a huge source of capital flight.  ”The rich always travel to other countries of  the world to get what they want but there are some other people who actually need these surgeries and there is no any other method of treating them, but unfortunately, they cannot afford these surgeries, so we liaise with the Surgical Aid Foundation who can assist these patients to bring the surgeries down home to them and make them more affordable,” he said.

    Also speaking, a gynecologist at the Wuse General Hospital, Dr. Seyi Ashaolu, disclosed that the procedure is for everybody, but however, warned that patients must be carefully selected so as  to optimised the result one wants to get.

    He, however, warned women with pregnancy that is more than 14-16 weeks to tread with caution when undergoing minimal access surgery.

    “Pregnancy is not an absolute contra indication, but you must be careful. Any pregnancy that is more than 14 to 16 weeks are advised not to go in and why would not want to do minimal access surgery during pregnancy?

    “Sometimes some women have what is called ovarian cysts, that is partly what we can go ahead to do laparoscopy, however, in late pregnancy, we don’t advice laparoscopy.”

     

  • Foundation to FG: Prioritise vocational education in rural areas

    A Kogi State-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Dove Love Foundation, has called on the Federal Government to emphasis on vocational education and skill acquisition as part of school curriculum in the rural areas.

    The president of the NGO, Mrs. Agnes Achimugu made the call on Thursday, during the graduation ceremony of fresh vocational trainees sponsored by the foundation, at Oguma, headquarters of Bassa local government.

    She opined that adequate attention was not being paid to rural dwellers under the nation’s school curricular.

    She asserted that improvement in human development was imperative for the economic development of any nation, stressing that vocational training remains integral to national development in Nigeria.

    Her words: “The progress of this country lies in the productivity of its citizens and I venture to stress that vocational education holds the key. Unfortunately, previous governments at all levels did not accord this model a deserving attention.

    “Vocational education especially for rural women is highly recommended because on successful completion of such a programme, the graduand becomes not only employable, but she also becomes  an employer. Vocational education makes beneficiaries, especially the women, to develop self-confidence and become self-reliant”.

    The Aguma of Bassa, Chief William keke Jimba expressed gratitude to the foundation, saying it was the first time he witnessed such ‘developmental model’ coming from an NGO to Bassa kingdom.

    He noted that the group was there on 31 October, 2014 “when she paid school fees for 30 secondary school pupils and “pledged to train at least 10 vulnerable people in our area”.

    Some of the beneficiaries including Paulina Gwatana, Yin Dangagra, Ruth Job, Grace Mohammed, Mulikatu Gwatana, Muritala Sherifat, Shaibu Rahmat, Kashe Jimba, Gbaje Patience and Nefisat Suleiman, took turns to express appreciation for the opportunity, saying they will make good use of it.

    The foundation according to the promoters has trained over 200 rural women in various skill acquisition programmes, providing them with working equipments for self-reliance.

    Speaking on behalf of the parents and guardians, Mr. Rufai Mustapha commended the foundation for impacting positively on the people of the area, particularly those in the lower economic strata.

  • Drop in reported domestic violence cases, says NGO

    Drop in reported domestic violence cases, says NGO

    A nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Women Rights and Health Project (WRAHP), has reported a reduction in reported cases of domestic violence after an 18-month domestic violence watch at Alimosho and Igando areas of Lagos State.

    Their findings were presented during the project’s evaluation at the Excel Oriental Hotels on Airport Road, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Of the sample population tested, WRAHP said 44 per cent were victims of domestic violence, with 35 per cent of them women.

    Mrs Morenike Uponk, who works with Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, said there was a huge progress during the 18 months survey, adding that people recognised that police can prosecute, but many do not want police to handle their cases.

    Mrs. Uponk said there could be a lot of impact in increasing awareness and keeping things right, but the worst affected people are the non-educated.

    “A higher percentage of people are aware of domestic violence but the percentage facing prosecution are very low reasons being that the victims of this violence do not want the perpetrators to go to jail as most of the perpetrators are family members, hence stopping the police from doing their job,” she said.

    She urged victims to report their cases to WRAHP.

    WRAHP’S Executive Director, Mrs Bose Agbonmerele Iro-Nsi said the perpetrators’ negative mindset made them commit the act, noting that the group is training people on how to curb it.

    Mr Latif KayodeAkinbarode from Community Women’s Rights Foundation urged victims to always demand to see the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) human rights desk when reporting such cases at police stations.

  • NGO educates Mushin pupils on clean environment

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Friends of the Environment, has engaged secondary school pupils of Mushin, Lagos State, on the benefits of clean environment.

    The programme,with the theme: Operation catch them young, held at Community Senior School, Mushin.

    The pupils were made to understand the importance of clean environment and the detriments of harming it.

    Chairman of the occasion, Dr Samuel Akintayo, an insurance practitioner, said the programme’s objective was to educate the pupils about their purpose in the future of the nation.

    Dr. Akintayo said: “The youths are very important, so is our environment. Therefore, we are to keep our environment very clean to make Nigeria what it is supposed to be. Besides, to become something great in life, our environment matters. When these students become leaders of tomorrow, we will be certain of a clean environment, both in the financial, education and economic sectors.  If all these institutions are clean, then we are assured of a clean nation. If we travel to other countries, it won’t be a new thing because we have a clean nation.”

    Vice Principal of the school, Mrs Ololade Taiwo, cautioned against acts like pollution, noise and abandoned vehicles, which harm the social environment where plants, animals and humans live.

    She encouraged the provision of structures such as schools, houses, roads, bridges, playground, banks, and market, among others, which beautify the environment.

    Founder and coordinator of the NGO, Mrs Iyabo Akinsiju, said the organisation is aimed at upgrading the community and initiating a change of heart among the citizens.

    She said with their little efforts, children could  change things for the better.

    “The environment is the only thing the rich and the poor share which cannot be dictated by the government so such a place needs to be given fair treatment. We believe if we get to the younger ones, we have reached the older ones. My advice to the young ones is to imbibe the habit of keeping a clean environment and try not to live in a polluted one,” she said.

    The SS1 and SS2 class prefects were made ambassadors of the environment to represent the organisation in their schools and other public places.

    Happiness Nwankwo, an SS2 pupil of the school said the programme taught her the need for cleanliness and engaging in consistent environmental cleaning, both at home and school.

    SS3 pupil of Itire Community Senior Secondary School, Itire, Blessing Okafor, said she had learnt the importance of maintaining a clean environment as well as the consequences of having a bad one.

    The students were also taught songs about the environment and were asked to teach their friends and colleagues.

  • NGO celebrates with workers

    NGO celebrates with workers

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Activista Lagos has commemorated this year’s May Day with workers in conjunction with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other trade unions. The event took place at the Onikan Stadium Lagos.

    The group used the May Day celebration to call on government to use tax payers’ money for the provision of roads, schools, electricity, health facilities and water. It said provision of such necessary facilities for the people is the only way the people could enjoy the benefits of democracy.

    Activista, which is known for its slogan ‘Up with Justice, Down with Hunger’ also urged the government to investigate,  prosecute indicted Nigerians who are involved in the Panama Papers scandal, even as it warned that the issue of Panama Papers must not be treated as another Halliburton.

    The group is also called on government to beam searchlight on those involved as they cheat the government by evading tax payment.

    Activista’s National Coordinator Nigeira, Oyinkansola Mabe-ko called on the Federal Government to ensure the security and welfare of the people, adding that the government must ensure that multi-nationals and big companies pay their taxes failure of which amounts to financial fraud.

    The celebrations were attended by senior government officials and labour unions officials led by the Chairman of the Lagos chapter of the NLC, Idowu Adelakun.

    Activista is Actionaid International’s global youth network comprising more than 250 ActionAid partners and thousands of volunteers in more than 25 countries.

  • NGO stages walk for rhesus awareness

    NGO stages walk for rhesus awareness

    Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Rhesus Solution Initiative (RSI), will tomorrow stage a walk to create awareness on Rhesus factor and genotype in Lagos.

     The walk, according to RSI Founder/President Mrs Olufunmilayo Banire, is to sensitise the public on the importance of knowing their rhesus factors, blood group and genotype as well as to promote physical fitness.

     She said: “Our primary objective is to create and promote awareness on blood group, Rhesus factor and genotype. We focus on rhesus negative mothers by helping them to achieve satisfying and healthy deliveries of live babies through Awareness, Counselling, Intervention, Training, Advocacy and Research (ACITAR).”

    Rhesus negative women, RSI Coordinator Rasaq Olorunnimbe, are at risk of having repeated miscarriages, still births or infant death.

    “Babies born to rhesus negative mothers can have Rhesus Disease, jaundice (yellowness of the eyes and skin) or retardation.

    “Rhesus negative women must get Rhogam on Anti D injection 28 weeks into their pregnancies and within 72 hours after birth. They have to avoid abortion or get Rhogam injection after every abortion, miscarriage and delivery and they also must use a reliable health facility with qualified health workers for adequate care,” Olorunnimbe said.

    This year’s walk with the theme, Walk For Life, would start by 7am.

    It will take off from Isheri roundabout and end at Igando/Ikotun Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

    Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Adebule will lead senior government officials to the event.