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Malaria: NLNG, USAID Seal $.1m Deal

By Teddy Nwanunobi

The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and the United States’ Agency for International Development (USAID) have sealed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make Bonny Island an operational base, malaria free, staking $100,000 on corporate social responsibility (CSR).

According to a statement signed by NLNG’s Eyono Fatayi-Williams, the MoU was signed by the duo of the NLNG’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Tony Attah and Mary Beth Leonard, respectively.

Through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), USAID will provide technical assistance to NLNG-led Bonny Island Malaria Elimination Project (BNYMEP), which seeks to reduce the malaria burden, move the community to pre-elimination status, bring malaria-related mortality to zero, and make Bonny Island the country’s first malaria-free zone.

The PMI is focused on reducing malaria-related mortality by 50 percent across 24 high-burden developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and three Southeast Asian countries, through a rapid scale-up of four proven and highly effective malaria prevention and treatment measures.

The MoU also includes a partnership between NLNG and the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) regarding support to the HIV/AIDS Surge Project, which focuses on the control of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on Bonny Island.

The HIV/AIDS Surge Project is currently coordinated by Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) in Rivers State.

In his remarks at the signing, Attah stated that NLNG commenced the BNYMEP in January 2019 as part of its vision to transform Bonny Island into a tourism and economic hub in the West African region.

He further stated that a malaria-free zone was key to attracting investments to the Island, which will positively impact the socio-economic well-being of its residents.

“We are ready to put Bonny Island on the map as one the first malaria-free community in Nigeria and a reference point in the global eradication of the disease. Malaria has impacted negatively on health care in Nigeria, and it is time to change the narrative. It is time to free ourselves of the economic burden that this scourge has imposed on us for years, freeing available resources to tackle other issues and to attain more Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs). We hope to set a precedent with a workable model for private sector participation in SDGs’ achievement. These goals align with our vision of helping to build a better Nigeria,” Attah said.

Leonard said the agreement moves them closer to achieving the reduction of the malaria and HIV/AIDS from the Island.

“Reducing the burden of malaria and HIV/AIDS on Bonny Island are goals within our reach. This partnership moves us closer to achieving those goals. I commend the efforts of NLNG to meet its social responsibility in helping the economic climate of Bonny Island by improving the health of its residents,” Leonard said.

Malaria has remained one of the deadliest diseases globally, and Nigeria still records a high number of casualties.

On Roll Back Malaria Campaign, NLNG supported efforts of both the federal and Rivers State governments to roll back malaria in all its host communities in the state through improved sanitation habits and use of mosquito/insecticide treated bed nets.

NLNG is owned by four shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (49 per cent), Shell Gas B.V.  (25.6 per cent), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15 per cent), and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr. l (10.4 per cent).

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