Chairman, Ned Nwoko Foundation, Prince Ned Nwoko, yesterday, landed in the Antarctica for the symbolic flag-off of his multi-billion naira malaria eradication in Africa project. He goes down in history as the first Nigerian to explore the Antarctica continent.
Nwoko, former member of House of Representatives had earlier departed Abuja enroute Cape Town, South Africa on Sunday January 5, 2020 for the historic expedition. He was accompanied in the expedition by a team of scientists from Russia, India, China, USA and UK.
The highly anticipated expedition to Antarctica took off from Cape Town. Prince Ned Nwoko, a renowned educationist, public health advocate and environmentalist is championing malaria eradication in Africa through his foundation.
Nwoko, who is also a notable patron of sports, culture and tourism is using the expedition to draw global attention to the scourge of malaria in Africa. His two-pronged approach to end the scourge are fumigation of Africa and funding research endowments for malaria vaccine in five universities across Africa to the tune of $750,000. Each university will receive a research grant of $150,000.
Multi-media agency reports monitored by correspondents indicated that preparatory to take off from the southernmost tip of Africa for the expedition, Dr. Ned Nwoko underwent safety briefing on the daring trip out of Africa to the ice-filled Antarctica. After the briefing, the billionaire was spotted with Captain Hamish Harding and a teenager, Giles Harding who makes history as the youngest human ever to visit the Antarctica.
Prince Nwoko stated in Cape Town just before takeoff to Antartica, “Malaria is majorly African problem. If you understand that, then you will comprehend why there is no concerted effort to find a permanent cure to it… There is no family in Nigeria that has been spared. No family that has not lost some loved relatives.”
