Solomon Attah,Lafia
The Nasarawa State office of the COVID-19 Action Recovery Stimulus (NG-Cares), a World Bank assisted programme, has commenced implementation of two micro projects in 83 selected communities across the state to ameliorate the plight of the people.
According to the implementing Agency of the programme, Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), the projects, which is estimated to gulped about One Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-five Million Naira (N1, 245, 000, 000.00), would have the state NG-Cares office executing two projects in each of the selected communities with direct bearing on the lives of the people.
This is just as the state NG-Cares office, has purchased medical facilities for the Kofar Kaura Primary Healthcare Center as well as renovated a primary school, worth about Fifteen Million Naira in Lafia local government.
Speaking in an interview, shortly after handing over medical equipment to the Kofar Kaura facility in Lafia, the State NG-Cares Coordinator, Umar Ibrahim Dahiru, explained that, the essence was to help the communities reduce the spread of HIV, hepatitis another infectious diseases.
He then thanked Governor Abdullahi Sule for approving funds for the purchase and distribution of medical facilities to over 100 health centers in the state.
Dahiru said, the provision of the items was a commitments of the programme to engage the people on the project of their choice and to embark on same, that will benefit the communities, through the implementing agency, Community and Social Community Development Agency (CSDA).
He expressed happiness that, the agency was able to buy the most needed items for the medical facility as budgeted for, and assured of his commitment to deliver on their mandate, especially in the areas of health, education, water and environmental sanitation.
According to the State NG-Cares Coordinator, “this is just one of the over 100 medical facilities across the state, that His Excellency has approved funding for the provision of basic social amenities.
“We are just here to commission this project for use in this primary health. There are many more that are going on simultaneously,” he added.
He, however commended Governor Sule for providing funding and the platform for people across communities to benefit from his laudable initiative.
Ahmed El-shaa, the General Manager, Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), as an agency responsible for implementing the World Bank assisted programme, they would do everything to ensure the people get the best of the project executed.
El-shaa said, based on their mapping, about 166 projects are being executed in the 83 selected communities, in the areas of health, education, water, erosion control among others.
“We are implementing the programme in 83 communities and each community, we are executing two micro projects and by the time you multiply it into two, you get 166 projects across the 83 communities.”
“And in every community, we are executing about N15 million micro projects and it all depends on what the people need for intervention”, El-shaa said.
The CSDA boss emphasized that, the hallmark of the project was to provide what the people most needed, to improve the livelihood and health condition.
Some of the purchased items included, beds, matrasses, pillows, solar light and packates of testing kits.
