Dangote, Bill Gates foundation, CROWN vaccinate 20,000 children in 3 states

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

Dangote Foundation, in collaboration with Bill Gates Foundations and the Community Re-orientation Women Network (CROWN), have facilitated the vaccination of 20,000 children in 3 states in northern Nigeria.

Similarly, the three foundations have linked about 50,000 pregnant women to Antenatal services in six states across the north.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive officer, Dangote Foundation, Zouera Yousouffou told newsmen at a press conference on Thursday that CROWN had galvanized over 5,000 Ambassadors to provide the women with key messages and identify children and women needing services including skills and start up skills.

Zouera Yousouffou stated that the Group has already conducted a pilot outreach in 39 wards across  three states, out of the six identified states including Kano, Bauchi and Sokoto among others.

Yousouffou who presented a keynote message with focus on the CROWN concept and its objectives, introduced the Board Members, and speaks to the vision for the future.

She said CROWN is volunteer based women collective that are committed to advancing human development indices in the most remote areas.

“Our entry point has been health but we are consolidating and plan to expand to education and nutrition.

“These women will be supported with economic empowerment schemes that builds on the crafts they are interested in ensuring that this is a wrap around support that empowers the woman and benefits her family.

“We have implemented pilots in a few wards across some states including Kano, Sokoto and of course Bauchi where we started.

 “And we have started to see the promise that this holds in improving immunization uptake, preventing malnutrition and linking over 190 thousand families to essential health services.

“With this proof of concept established, we recently incorporated CROWN as a grassroots entity, and yesterday, inaugurated the Board of Trustees here in Kano to help steer this initiative and keep us true to cause”, she stated.

Violiane Mitchell, a director with the Gates Foundation with decades of experience supporting immunization and health in Nigeria, explained that, “We have walked through communities with these women and seen the many creative ways they are influencing caregivers, and empowering each other on voluntary basis”.

Also, Uche Igbokwe, the Chief Executive Officer of SCIDOR, said CROWN is volunteer based women collective that are committed to advancing human development indices in the most remote areas.

Igbokwe said: “Our entry point has been health but we are consolidating and plan to expand to education and nutrition.”