The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs have concluded plans to collaborate on the delivery of free healthcare services to women and children in rural communities across Nigeria.
The proposed partnership was a major outcome of a courtesy visit by the Director General of NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, to the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, at the Ministry's headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, General Nafiu said the Scheme possesses a vast pool of healthcare professionals serving in communities nationwide who can be mobilised to support the Ministry's healthcare interventions.
According to him, NYSC has doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, dermatologists, physiotherapists and medical laboratory scientists who have been providing free medical services to underserved communities through the Scheme's Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD) programme introduced in 2014.
The Director General further disclosed that the recent donation of two mobile medical clinics to the Scheme by the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, would significantly strengthen the proposed collaboration.
He noted that the mobile clinics could be deployed periodically to support the Ministry's healthcare programmes, improve access to free medical screening and treatment for women and children, and ultimately contribute to reducing maternal and child mortality across the country.
General Nafiu also proposed a partnership in skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development. He explained that the Ministry's training facilities could be utilised for the post-Orientation Course training of Corps Members, who would, in turn, transfer the acquired vocational skills to women in their host communities to enhance their economic empowerment.
"We are ready to explore opportunities within the Ministry, particularly the use of your training facilities, to strengthen our Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme. Our Corps Members will, in return, empower women in their communities by equipping them with vocational skills through which they can earn sustainable incomes to support their families," he said.
The NYSC Director General also highlighted the Scheme's longstanding support for the Ministry during the annual International Women's Day and Children's Day celebrations, where Corps Members contribute through cultural performances, music, dance and public sensitisation activities.
Responding, the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, described the visit as historic, noting that closer collaboration between the two institutions was long overdue because of their shared mandate to improve the lives of Nigerians.
She expressed the Ministry's readiness to partner with NYSC in all the areas proposed, stressing that effective inter-agency collaboration remains one of the most efficient ways of achieving meaningful and sustainable national development.
To facilitate the partnership, the Minister proposed the appointment of focal persons from both organisations to develop a framework that would define and guide the areas of collaboration.
Hajiya Sulaiman-Ibrahim also commended General Nafiu's leadership, describing him as a quiet achiever whose stewardship has brought stability to the operations of the Scheme.
She further described the NYSC as one of Nigeria's most cherished national institutions, adding that its impact continues to resonate with millions of Nigerians.
"There is hardly anyone who has not passed through the NYSC. It is an institution that is very dear to all of us. My own daughter is currently serving, and I appreciate how important the Scheme is to her and to the nation," the Minister said.
Adeola Kunle
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