Mr Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), was on Wednesday conferred with the Commander of the Order of Merit of Niger honour by the President of the Republic of Niger, His Excellency, Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey.
Details of the development was contained in a statement signed by Mr Francis Awowole-Browne, Media and Communication Personnel, DIL, in Lagos.
According to the statement, the certificate of conferment presented to Dangote was in appreciation for his services rendered to the Republic of Niger and as well as a tribute to his business acumen and philanthropy.
The statement recalled that his Foundation, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) intervened in various ways to improve healthcare and routine immunisation in Niger Republic and her neighbouring countries.
It added that Dangote had earlier been conferred with the Commander of the National Order of Valour of the Republic of Cameroon, and the Grand Commander of the National Order of the Republic of Benin.
The statement furthered that in a related development, the ADF alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and GAVI; the Vaccine Alliance had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of the Republic of Niger.
The MoU was on a collaboration for improving the expanded programme on immunisation in Diffa, Maradi and Zinder regions, which were along the country’s southern border of Nigeria.
“The Nigerien national award by the president is in recognition of the various health-related interventions by the Aliko Dangote Foundation including financial support to the tune of 500,000 dollars to help fight a previous meningitis and cholera outbreaks.
“ADF also provided N250 million for the provision of food for refugees and displaced persons and 1,000,000 dollars support for enhanced routine immunisation in the three identified regions of Diffa, Maradi and Zinder,” it said.
Speaking on the MoU signed in May 2022, the Managing Director, ADF, Mrs Zouera Youssoufou, stated that the ADF was committing 1 million dollars over 3 years; BMGF was providing 2 million dollars while GAVI was bringing in 10 million dollars worth of vaccines.
She said the foundations were committed to providing technical and financial support to the government of Niger to strengthen its vaccine programmes gradually and sustainably improve its coverage in the regions.
“To protect the target populations against poliomyelitis and other vaccine-preventable diseases, the government of Niger is committed to strengthening the routine vaccine programme and to reduce morbidity and mortality in the regions of Diffa, Maradi and Zinder.
“The objective of the MoU is to collaborate on strengthening vaccination in Niger to improve the delivery of routine vaccine services in the three regions to achieve full vaccination coverage of 90 per cent of the target population by December 2024.
“It is also to ensure that at least 90 per cent of districts achieve 90 per cent Penta 3 vaccination coverage; to vaccinate 90 per cent of the zero doses identified; to stop poliovirus transmission and maintain polio-free status.
“It would additionally ensure consistent national funding and procurement of vaccines in order to secure a sustained and steady supply of all routine vaccines throughout the country,” she said.
Dangote commended the efforts of top officials of the ADF, government agencies, and development partners for their untiring efforts in ensuring the end of polio in Nigeria and collaboration to make the certification possible.
“These, among others, include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DfID) (now FCDO),
“Others are; the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Governors and Health Ministries of Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Borno, Sokoto and Yobe States,” he said.
Three regions of Diffa, Maradi and Zinder share a common border with Northern Nigeria and together make up almost 28 per cent of Niger’s land area and about 40 per cent of the country’s population.
