By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A medical doctor, Ms Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, has been appointed as the General Manager of the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF).
The appointment of the accomplished executive with over 10 years of experience in program management has been described as the right step as she will use her experience to meet the goals of the organisation.
The Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, Mr Tijani Babatunde Folawiyo, in a statement made available to Business Post, said, “We are delighted to welcome Dr Chinye-Nwoko to steer the NSSF towards its goal of vaccinating one million Nigerians.”
“Her wealth of knowledge and experience in healthcare equips her to navigate this huge task, which includes making sure that our citizens are well informed about the vaccine. We are excited to move the work of the fund forward with her involvement,” he added.
Reacting to her appointment, Ms Chinye-Nwoko said she aims to contribute to the building of a resilient healthcare system in Nigeria, with a focus on removing the barriers to access quality healthcare, noting that her first task will be the focus on vaccine equity and education.
“I would love to see NSSF bring together like-minded passionate Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, to help finance this new focus.
“We have identified the great need for our people to be protected against COVID-19 and to this end will be working to acquire vaccines and ensure that Nigerians have the benefit of knowledge about the vaccine.
“We will work towards creating an understanding of why it is necessary for as many of us as possible to be protected from the disease,” she said.
With the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Nigerians, NSSF aims to support vulnerable groups, strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare systems and reskill the Nigerian Youth for a post-COVID-19 era. To this end, the NSSF has set its main priority for 2021 going forward: To get One Million Nigerians vaccinated against COVID-19.
The group has raised over $ 2.4 million and is launching a new drive to encourage Nigerian philanthropists, HNIs, corporate organizations, the public sector and international businesses, to contribute to the pool.
The fund for Nigerians by Nigerians aims to raise $ 50 million and has donors to visit https://nigeriasolidarityfund.ng/donate/, noting that all donations will support the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic.
The new GM of the organisation has a proven track record in designing and implementing multi-donor projects from inception to completion. She is said to be ideally placed to oversee the focus on a vaccination program for Nigerians, driven by her passion for healthcare delivery.
Ms Chinye-Nwoko studied at the University of Port Harcourt and spent the first part of her career as a medical doctor with the Lagos State Health Service Commission.
She spent four years at the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation where, amongst other initiatives, she led the development of policies and guidelines for the improvement of maternal and child health outcomes in Nigeria.
In 2019 she gained a Masters degree in Global Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Through her consultancy work, she has been at the forefront of innovations in telemedicine and provided program management for EpiC, the USAID funded program which provides support to the Government of Nigeria to mitigate COVID-19 transmission, morbidity and mortality.
