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From Ola Muhammad, Birnin Kebbi
The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Muhammad Mera, has called on international donor agencies combating diseases in Nigeria to pool their resources and unite to effectively eliminate communicable health threats.
He made the call during an advocacy visit by members of the Rotary Health Communities Challenge (RHCC) to his palace in Argungu.
The royal father emphasised that funding should be pooled and targeted at common diseases within specific areas to achieve a shared goal.
“I thank you for your efforts, but we face a fundamental problem in Kebbi, and across many places, which is a lack of synergy among agencies working toward the same objective.
“All the resources you are spending can be brought together to solve these identified problems once and for all,” he stated.
Mera also made a case for health initiatives to adopt sustainable communication strategies, noting that past success in defeating polio across the state relied on directly engaging district, village, and community leaders.
“For years, Kebbi has recorded zero polio cases because we talked directly to the right people using the right channels,” he noted.
He added that once communities are properly educated, parents would actively request vaccines for their children.
Earlier, RHCC team leader and Past District Governor, Sagab Sani, solicited royal support to combat preventable childhood killers, specifically malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea, in hard-to-reach areas.
He explained that RHCC has trained local health volunteers to offer free testing, diagnostics, and treatment directly to households.
Sani, who advocated three specific actions which are, a royal proclamation for community mobilisation, weekly announcements at Friday mosques, and the establishment of a palace committee to safeguard drug supplies, presented a Royal Commitment Sheet for the Emir’s endorsement.
