The government of Canada under Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has disbursed the sum of $3 million as part of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Bauchi state government.
This development was disclosed by the Chief of Field Office, United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Dr Tushar Rane during a recent joint courtesy visit with the GAC delegation to Bauchi state Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir at the Government House, Bauchi.
Rane stated that the aim of the MoU was about empowering women by giving them the abilities and capacities to take part in the delivery of healthcare services and to enjoy the benefits of health services in the state.
He said: “UNICEF is implementing this project through the MoU partnership and the government of Canada has advanced all the resources for this project to UNICEF.
“We are working through the Bauchi State Primary HealthCare Development Agency(BSPHCDA) and other partners in the MoU and we are working in all the 323 wards of the state empowering women for their engagement in health service delivery.”
He made it known that the $3 Million will strengthen the implementation of some of the ongoing interventions of GAC and other partners in healthcare services that were captured in an MoU signed by both parties.
He said: “We are working through the BSPHCDA and other partners in the MoU, and we are working in all the 323 wards of the state empowering women for their engagements in health service delivery.”
While speaking earlier, the Counselor, Head of Development and Cooperation, Canadian High Commission in Nigeria, Mrs Djifa Ahado said that the collaboration with the government of Bauchi state has been one of the greatest collaborations ever in the country.
She said: “We hope to continue seeing that collaboration. We hope to see that the government continues with the result of the different projects that we have here.”
The Executive Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, thanked Global Affairs Canada for the numerous interventions in the state.
He stated that one of the interventions included youth entrepreneurship and women empowerment in Northern Nigeria, which according to him was implemented with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in seven Local Government Areas in Bauchi state.
He said the benefitting LGAs are Bauchi, Dass, Toro, Ganjuwa, Warji, Katagum and Jama’are.
While talking further, he said: “the projects are directly supporting and targeting a population of over 16,000 mainly constituting women and youth on small scale businesses and small entrepreneurs.
“The overreaching goal of the project is to enhance business performance in Agricultural value chains in order to improve the overall business environment and develop a culture of savings for women and youth in the state.”
He later assured that the state government will meet its obligations in all arrangements made with its partners.
