Foundation tells wealthy Nigerians to sacrifice half of their wealth to charity

The TY Danjuma Foundation (TYDF), an indigenous organisation, on Tuesday, urged wealthy Nigerians to sacrifice half of their wealth to supporting the less privileged in the society.

The Executive Director of the Foundation, Dr Sunday Udo, made the call at the Annual Call for Concept Notes Planning Meeting with Community Health Stakeholders in Abuja.

He said “we challenge wealthy Nigerians to sacrifice half of their wealth to charity to address societal challenges, especially in the health sector.

“The challenges are enormous and government alone cannot address them, hence, the need for all hands to be on deck to assist the less privileged in the country.’’

Udo added that the aim of the meeting was to create an opportunity for experience sharing between sector experts and the Foundation in order to chart a way forward for collaborative, responsive intervention.

He stressed the need for affluent Nigerians to channel their wealth to addressing neglected tropical diseases in rural areas, noting that government alone could not address the current challenges in the sector.

He advised that responding to needs in the nation’s health and education sectors were among the most critical steps toward advancing development in the country.

The executive director said that the nation’s health sector was still plagued by a myriad of challenges emanating, particularly, from poor planning, under budgeting and inadequate spending on healthcare service and infrastructure.

He said that the challenges in the health sector were worsened by poor sanitation and water supply, especially in rural communities, which resulted in a corresponding rise in infectious diseases.

“True to its mission, the TY Danjuma Foundation is looking forward to tackling these challenges with sector partners in the area of health and education.

“Our mission is to contribute to nation building where everyone will have access to affordable quality health care.”

Dr Ezikeanyi Chukwu, a Health Economics, in his remarks, urged the Foundation to key into the Universal Health Coverage by strengthening community health facilities in the country.

Chukwu advised the organisation to focus on demand creation to improve access to immunisation and reproductive health service,
using community structures like market women and religious leaders.

He, however, urged the Federal Government to ensure increased funding for the health sector to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the country.