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Netherlands Moves To Strengthen Nigeria’s Healthcare Systems
The Government of the Netherlands seeks to support Nigeria in strengthening its healthcare systems, to foster investments in Nigeria’s health sector and transfer capacity, expertise and best practices in line with its trade and aid policies.
The Consulate of the Kingdom of Netherlands, made this known, last Saturday, in a statement at a three-day fact-finding mission for Nigerian delegates in the Netherlands.
The delegation included private sector healthcare providers, financial investors and public sector officials.
The visit was organised by the Consulate of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Lagos, in collaboration with PharmAccess Foundation, the implementing partner for the Government of the Netherlands health-related activities.
According to the Consul General of the Netherlands in Lagos, Michel Deelen, it was the first health mission organised by the Consulate, which brought together leaders to meet and interact with Dutch health entrepreneurs.
He said the mission aimed at fostering investments in the Nigerian health sector and to transfer capacity, expertise and best practices.
“We aim to improve sustainable business partnerships between the Netherlands and Nigeria in key sectors like renewable energy, circular economy, agriculture and health.
“We understand the importance of authentic partnerships and aim to reap shared benefits from matchmaking opportunities in Nigeria and the Netherlands,” he said.
The Director, International Entrepreneurship at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marc Hasselaar, provided insights into the drafting of a new global health strategy.
He stated that the world economies had become more globalised and individual countries were proposing new guidelines to strengthen national and global health security.
“The Government of the Netherlands, as part of its global development goals, has established a policy directive to structure the support it provides to the healthcare sector, globally to ensure that its global health efforts are more strategic.
“The recently published Dutch Global Health Strategy 2023-2030: ‘Working together for health worldwide,’ aims to contribute in a coordinated and targeted way to improving public health around the world.
Deputy Consul General of the Netherlands, Leonie Van der Stijl, who joined the mission, also noted that healthcare challenges had become increasingly global, multidimensional and complex.
“The Dutch Global Health Strategy focuses on strengthening global health architecture and systems, especially for primary care and sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights.
“As Africa’s biggest economy, the state of affairs in Nigeria often reflects issues and opportunities that exist across the continent. That is why this mission is so important,” Leonie said.
Furthermore, a representative of PharmAcces Nigeria, Mr Njide Ndile, shared findings from the Nigeria Health Sector Market Study.
“The objectives of the study include: to provide deeper insights into the opportunities in Nigeria’s health sector and to position Dutch firms as Nigeria’s innovative partners for Life-Science-Health (LSH) opportunities.
“There are opportunities to leverage investments through funders such as Invest international, who also support and fund governments for systems building, in addition to making access available to the private sector,” he said.
Commenting on the report, Managing Partner and CEO of FIT Consult Limited, Loretta Aniagolu, stated that the study provided by PharmAccess Foundation was very useful in validating their own studies, particularly the breakdown of the expenditure of each state on overseas and private healthcare treatment.
“The report is scheduled to be disseminated in December, 2022, and it will provide deeper insights into the market entry strategies for Dutch companies looking to leverage investment opportunities in Nigeria’s health sector,” it said.
The delegation went on site visits to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
The Chief Executive Officer of Delft Imaging,Guido Geerts, brought the delegates up to speed on some of the innovative solutions they had developed, using digital x-rays and CAD4TB to improve TB screening, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
“Delft Imaging Systems, established in 1925, has a long history of developing innovative imaging solutions that improve the quality of people,” Geerts said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 245,000 Nigerians die from tuberculosis (TB) and about 590,000 new cases occur every year.
At the Philips Innovation Centre in Eindhoven, the latest consumer healthcare products were showcased and the Nigerian delegation took part in live demonstrations of some of the medical equipment.
Philips Indirect Channel Manager, West Africa,Edward Mwingi, said that Philips had been developing innovative healthcare solutions across the continuum of care, from health living, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and home-care.
“We saw how easy it is to deploy technologies that will guarantee our nation’s health in future. This is not limited to equipment; we also have innovative software and financing solutions that address our current needs in Nigeria.
“Functional healthcare systems cannot operate in isolation and to deliver the maximum benefit, they need to work effectively as part of a wider ecosystem that includes a well-trained workforce, funding to pay for health services, diagnostics and therapeutics.”
During the visit to Invest International, which had a shareholding that included the Dutch Ministry of Finance (51percent) and FMO (49percent), a triple-A bank, the delegation learned how the organisation supported in making investments feasible for Dutch solutions that addressed global challenges.
Senior Business Developer for Child Health and Innovation for Development,Yvette Fleming, and her team, also enlightened the delegates on how the organisation was finding smart solutions to complex issues.
The team shared an example of how they were finding solutions to nutrition and creating employment opportunities, with flying foods: insects for food.
“We have been supporting organisations in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria through the farming crickets.
“They can be eaten as a snack, ground into powder and added to porridge, bread and cookies.
“The cool bricks an efficient construction material that is environmentally friendly is used to build houses.
“The Nigerian construction material market would be a viable destination for the cool bricks, as the market for environmentally-friendly building materials is still in its infancy,” she said.
Innovations in bioengineering were presented at TU Delft, the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university in the Netherlands.
Viable opportunities were discussed for collaboration in relevant research and development with institutions in Nigeria.
The university has existing partnerships with the University of Lagos and University of Ibadan.
Researchers at the university presented diagnostic innovations that could address neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in low-resource settings.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, expressed appreciation to the Netherlands Government, adding that future fact-finding missions should include visits to pharmaceutical companies.
“The need for public-private partnership solutions, with counterpart funding are some of the financing solutions that need to be explored.
He also explained that in Lagos, they were pushing to ensure they smart working, leveraging on multiple sources of funding to deliver one standard of healthcare, benchmarked against international standards.
My-ACE China, known as the Mayor of Housing, has won the 2024 Man of the Year. The award was announced by board of trustees of the DMOMA Awards Academy in Port Harcourt at the week.
The organisers also declared his company, the Construction and Housing Mayor Limited as the brand promoter of the year, the third in a row.
The award ceremony which was held at the Arena Event centre in the GRA area of Port Harcourt was attended by several dignitaries in the society.
The organisers led by Dr. Ezebunwo Nyeche (chairman) and Stephen Chidiebere Okoye (Awards organizer) said in a statement that China was picked for his support and impact to small and medium enterprises in Rivers State, his media footsteps and his consistent propagation and promotion of Rivers State.
They noted that China won over 10 prestigious awards in 2024 alone on his track to promote Port Harcourt as a brand destination and Rivers as a peaceful state.
Handing the award to China, the organisers said the Mayor of Housing always comes to the rescue of events that aim to promote Rivers State, saying the DMOMA Awards would be held in two more cities in 2025.
Responding, Mr China said there is need for more sponsorship of talents in Port Harcourt and the Niger Delta, saying what they lacked was support.
“There is more talent in Port Harcourt but there is more support in Lagos to artistes than in Port Harcourt. So, the top talents in Port Harcourt work 10 times harder than those in Lagos to attract sponsorship.”
He also said Nigeria has a treasure base which is Port Harcourt but that the treasure is not oil and gas but talents. He said he was highly elated to win the of Man of the Year Award with his firm winning brand of the year.
In an interview, My-ACE China said he was particularly impressed with the diligence demonstrated by the organisers and the processes they used to pick winners every year.
He also said the victory showed attention paid by the organisers to unveil the personality behind the corporate masquerade, not just focusing on the company. “It actually reaffirms one of my quotes that a brand can only grow as big as the character of the visioner behind it.”
On his plans to help Port Harcourt compete with Lagos, China said 2025 will meet him doing things with the youths of Rivers State to push the Port Harcourt brand in the social media and rally the traditional press to create a positive narrative of Rivers State beyond violence and political negativity.
“The Garden City has not been enjoying the best of media perception for some years now but this is the first time we have a governor committed to non-political bias in doing his work. He does not consider whether you are a member of his party or not before doing what is right. For the first time, we have a true father of the state to all, and he has been diligently following the blueprint that stakeholders developed at the last Rivers Economic and Investment Summit, making sure he is doing it without political cronyism.”
He said his company would be building the biggest estate and the best, the ‘Alesa Sustainable Smart City, to move from brand perception to brand experience so as to move Rivers State to the next level.
He appealed to entrepreneurs not to be carried away by the old perception but to join the new way. “Position yourself because there is going to be a boom. People are rushing into Port Harcourt and new entrants may take the ground. Think expansion not contraction, think investment not divestment. Else, you miss it.”
To fellow estate investors, he admonished them to gear up for regulation. “It is no longer going to be business as usual especially for land peddling and land grabbing. Try to grow up because tangible development is going to take over.
“It is no longer going to be who sells the most land but who develops the most houses. The housing deficit in the land requires effective land development strategies. Any serious land seller should grow into a housing developer because developments are going to be coming into Rivers State and a lot of people are coming into the state.”
He said those that have grown to be developers will be many times richer than those that are just starting or are mere land sellers and peddlers. People should also position themselves because all the foreign investments and local ones will take advantage of this influx.
“The value of influx is coming, so prepare and take advantage. Be one of those that are big enough to take advantage. Remaining small will not be good but grow big in your products, in your services, because the market is going to grow big.”
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has expressed shock and sadness over the death of a former military governor of the State, Major-General Godwin Osagie Abbe (rtd).
Late Abbe, who hails from Edo State, was military governor of Rivers State between August, 1990 and January, 1992.
Governor Fubara described late Gen Abbe as one leader who dedicated himself to the service and wellbeing of Rivers people and humanity during his administration in the State, saying that the death of the distinguished military officer, politician and administrator was a very huge loss to the State, the Niger Delta, and indeed, the entire country, having traversed the length and breath of the nation in the cause of his military and political careers.
“On behalf of my family, the Government and good people of Rivers State, I condole with the family of the Abbes, the Edo people, and the Nigerian military on the demise of this colossus, whose contributions to the unity, peace and development of the nation are legendary.
“While we mourn his painful exit at this difficult time, we pray for the eternal repose of his soul, and urge the family to take solace in the fact that late Gen Abbe lived a fulfilled life in the service of his fatherland.”
Wife of Rivers State Governor, Lady Valerie Siminalayi Fubara, has noted with delight that Rivers children are well behaved, and has admonished them to remain supportive of their parents while striving always to make a difference wherever they find themselves.
Lady Fubara gave the counsel at the 2024 Christmas Children Party, attended by children from the 23 Local Government Areas of the State, including non-indigenes, at Government House in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
The Christmas Children Party also witnessed the presence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who stopped over to share moments with them, walking from one canopy to another, waving at them, and at other times, shaking hands with them to leave lasting memories on them.
The Rivers First Lady pointed to the importance of the celebration of Christmas, which draws attention to the birth of Jesus Christ, demanding that people have a deep reflection of the love that is demonstrated and mission of the birth, which is to redeem mankind.
Lady Fubara recalled how she took out time to visit the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, where she appreciated God for safe delivery of children born on Christmas day while felicitating with the nursing mothers.
She also stated the valuable time spent with motherless babies when she visited the Port Harcourt Children’s Home in Borikiri, old Port Harcourt Township, and celebrated their meekness, innocence and the beauty they bring to the world.
She said, “Even today, as we continue the celebration, efforts were made to extend invitation to our children in all the 23 local government areas of our State. In doing this, children from all classes of society, including the physically challenged, have been offered the opportunity to sit together as brothers and sisters, play, eat and dance.
“Whilst contemplating the uniqueness of celebrating Christmas on a Boxing Day, steps were equally taken to provide gifts for the children who are there, and also to pray for them, a qualitative fun session that will last in their memories.”
Lady Fubara advised all children in the State to remember that Jesus came into the world to make a difference, advising that they must emulate him so that they can positively impact their families and society.
She urged them to pray fervently to God to bless and prosper their mothers, daddies, aunties and uncles to better cater to their needs.
She added, “Be humble, obedient and supportive at home. Do household chores, and don’t forget to make excellent grades in school next academic session. Children are the joy of every home, and we are glad to have beautiful, well-behaved children in Rivers State.
“Thank you all for witnessing this 2024 Children’s Party, and I pray God Almighty to protect, shield and keep you safe from all negative companies in the name of Jesus. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2025. God bless you all,” she said.
Lady Fubara expressed appreciation to her husband and Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for his absolute commitment to the growth of children, and the immeasurable support that ensured that Christmas Children Party was a success.
There were performances by Virtue Dancers, Kalabari Iria dancers, Wonder Time Children of Opobo Kingdom, Children of Rivers State Council of Arts and Culture, Diseye the Poet and DJ Arnold.