From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Nigeria’s First Lady and wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has flagged off the distribution of 10,000 professional kits to midwives across the South East, as part of efforts to support frontline health workers and improve maternal healthcare in the region.
The event, which took place in Enugu on Monday brought together stakeholders from the five South East states: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, and Enugu.
The initiative is part of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), a social intervention programme spearheaded by the First Lady to complement the Federal Government’s retraining of 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide.
According to Senator Tinubu, the RHI is distributing 60,000 kits, comprising scrubs and Crocs, to midwives, nurses, and other frontline health workers across the country.
“In view of this, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), is distributing 60,000 kits (scrubs and Crocs) to our midwives, nurses and other health workers as an incentive to encourage them in their work and improve healthcare delivery.
“Since January 2025, we have distributed 50,000 of these kits to the Southwest, Southsouth, Northeast, Northwest, Northcentral and today we are in Southeast to distribute the remaining 10,000 kits.
“I thank God that today we’re concluding the distribution of these kits to every part of Nigeria. I’m very excited about that,” she added.
Senator Tinubu noted that the success of the initiative was made possible through the generous support of an anonymous global donor she first met during the 2023 United Nations General Assembly and later at the 2024 African Union Summit.
In addition to the health interventions, the First Lady also announced a N50 million grant from the RHI to support 1,000 women petty traders in Enugu State with N50,000 each to recapitalise their businesses. Another N50 million grant, courtesy of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, will be distributed to 500 additional traders.
On her part, the wife of the Governor of Enugu State, Nkechinyere Mbah, described the kit distribution as a powerful affirmation of the value placed on midwives and health workers, calling it an act of “transformative leadership” that would have a direct impact on maternal and child health in the region.
Highlighting Enugu State’s commitment to health development, she added: “It is noteworthy that Enugu State already has a comprehensive Strategic Health Development Plan focused on leadership, service delivery, human resources, health financing, and community engagement.
“By aligning the Renewed Hope Initiative’s activities, such as medical outreaches and resource distribution, with these strategic thrusts, we can ensure that RHI health interventions address local needs and reinforce established frameworks,” she said.