Billionaires Bill Gates and Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Dr Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Health, have commended Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum for developing political will and giving attention to primary healthcare in spite of security challenges in the state.
They commended the governor at live video conference of the mid-year review of Borno’s 2020 immunization and primary healthcare coverage, held at Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation office in Abuja on Thursday.
Participating at the conference were Zulum, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Ehanire; Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib; the Country Director of World Health Organization, WHO, and the Commissioner of Health, Borno state, Dr. Salihu Kwayabura, while the representative of Shehu of Borno and Executive Secretary of Borno State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Sule Mele, contributed from Maiduguri.
Gates expressed his impression with Zulum’s strides in containing coronavirus.
“I am impressed with your (Zulum’s) quick response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in spite of the security challenges. I am satisfied with evidences of your lead-supervision and commitment to increasing citizens’ access to primary healthcare,” Gates said.
Also speaking, Dangote said he was impressed with Zulum’s increase allocation of 20% of Borno’s revised budget to healthcare as against 8% in the previous budget.
“I am also impressed with your quick release of Borno’s counterpart contribution to “basket”, which collects finances from supporting partners – Gates and Dangote, as well as benefiting states to show their commitment to funding immunization and other healthcare efforts.
“Like you (Governor Zulum) has done quite remarkably, I am happy to announce the Dangote foundation has also released its funds to the basket, today (Thursday)” said Dangote.
Zulum thanked Gates, Dangote, the Federal Ministry of Health, WHO and all other partners for supporting Borno’s healthcare development efforts.
He said that the state government had built 51 primary healthcare centers, “with the determination to have at least, one PHC in each of Borno’s 312 wards.
