Baron Ike
The Chairman and Managing Director, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), Jeff Ewing, has lauded the 12-year partnership between Chevron and the Global Fund in the fight against infectious diseases – HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria – and building of resilient health systems in Nigeria.
The Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations on good health and well-being.
In a statement, Thursday by CNL’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, the CNL boss, Ewing said that the partnership between Chevron and Global Fund is an example of how Chevron is contributing strategically to the development of Nigeria by helping to improve the health of its people.
He affirmed that Chevron has been one of the largest Global Fund corporate partners and its partnership focuses on capacity development initiatives, joint advocacy and communications campaigns, and other local initiatives. “Chevron also encourages its staff to share their skills with the local programs to help improve grant reach and performance,” he added.
Ewing further stated that Chevron’s $5 million investment from October 2017 has supported the national HIV and TB programmes in Nigeria, contributing significantly to the following national results by 2019:
- More than 1 million people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy
- More than 42,000 HIV-positive pregnant women received antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy to prevent passing the virus to their babies
- More than 1 million HIV-positive patients were screened for TB in HIV care or treatment settings
- More than 7 million people tested for HIV and received their results
- More than 2.8 million pregnant women knew their HIV status
The grants supported by Chevron in Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo and Lagos States helped train midwives to conduct testing; improved data quality and strengthened laboratory capacity. Chevron’s support in Nigeria also improved patient care and public financial management capacity, and supported a State health insurance scheme, which are key steps towards universal health coverage.