First Lady, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, has commended the activities of Doctors without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
She made the commendation while receiving a team from the organization on Monday 7 March 2022, according to a statement issued in Abuja and copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER by Aliyu Abdullahi, Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the First Lady.
Mrs. Buhari said the organization is reputed for the good it is doing to humanity and said many hard-to-reach areas rely on their intervention for medical service. She applauded the transfer of competence that thousands of Nigerian professionals were enjoying from the international team, believing that ultimately, it will result in the reduction of the rates of maternal and child mortality in the country.
The team was received on her behalf by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Women Affairs, Dr. Rukayya Gurin.
Mrs. Buhari noted areas of common interest between the organization and Future Assured Programme to include, nutrition, maternal and child health, urging for more partnership between the two organizations.
Earlier, the Nigeria Country Representative of MSF, Dr. Simba Tirima said the organization is an international, independent medical humanitarian organization that provides medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare.
MSF, he said, is at the forefront of humanitarian service in Nigeria, with a presence in 10 states, employing 3000 Nigerian professionals. Part of the programmes he highlighted was lead poisoning, maternal and child health, Noma disease, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Nutrition, and support for internally displaced persons.
He explained that thousands of Nigerians have been served through outpatient, inpatient and emergency consultations, while many have been treated for malaria, malnutrition, cholera, measles, Lassa fever, and Noma disease.
He said the organization is in the process of strengthening its legal relationship with the Federal Government through a host country agreement so that they will be legally empowered to do more for the country. He commended the First Lady for her multiple interventions and advocacy in the area of nutrition, saying a factory has been birthed for the local production of Ready-to-use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF), one of her campaigns relating to Severe Acute Malnutrition.
At the meeting were the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs and Strategy, Malam Muhammad Sani Zorro, other Special Assistants and officials of MSF from various regions of the world.
