HEI, Pillars Initiative unite to reduce non-chronic disease in women, children

Forum 1 year ago

HEI, Pillars Initiative unite to reduce non-chronic disease in women, children

Driven by the desire to make a difference, a non-governmental organisation, Pillar Initiative Aid Foundation (PIAF), in Nigeria with a focus on good health and well-being among other SDG Goals recently donated N1 million to Health Emergency Initiative (HEI) to assist 55 women and children with non-chronic diseases.

Some of the non-chronic diseases include; malaria, typhoid fever, meningitis, sepsis, tetanus, malnutrition, diarrhoea, jaundice, one-off blood transfusion etc, across Lagos State public health institutions up to a maximum of N30,000.

The project was successfully implemented with a significant reduction in death rates in various hospitals including Massey Street children’s hospital, Ajeromi General Hospital, Shomolu General hospital.

It is no longer news that Nigeria is home to the highest number of poor people in the world. This implies that many of its citizens are unable to access basic healthcare with attendant fatalities.

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, out of 627,000 people who died of Malaria in 2020, 27 per cent were Nigerians. Worse still, most of those affected are women and children.

HEI is a credible NGO that has assisted and brought succour to more than 1,700 indigent and vulnerable patients and accident victims across Lagos state and beyond. It is also a recipient of the Best Supporting NGO Award from the Lagos State Health Service Commission and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

Commenting on the project, one of the Founders of PIAF, Mrs Funmi Babatunde-Dada, said: “Recent reports that 1 out of 5 children born in Nigeria do not live to witness their 5th birthday is alarming and potentially constitutes an existential threat to oncoming generations.

“As a result, we reached out to various public hospitals to identify an NGO that has credibility in responding to the medical needs of indigent and vulnerable people unable to pay their bills or access basic healthcare and most of them recommended HEI, hence the partnership’.

Babatunde-Dada stressed that urgent and broad-based action is needed by all to address this malady, encouraging other corporate organizations and public-spirited Nigerians to partner with HEI in view of its impeccable records in the last 7 years.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of HEI, Mr Paschal Achunine, thanked the leadership of Pillars Initiative for their “unrelenting support for the social well-being of Nigerians”, and expressed optimism that more beneficiaries would be supported in 2023 through the partnership.