By Perpetua Onuegbu

The Federal Government has solicited collaboration from the UN-Habitat to facilitate its Urban Renewal, Slum Upgrading and New City Development Project.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa made the appealed when Mr Oumar Sylla, Director, African office of UN-Habitat based in Nairobi visited him on Friday in Abuja.

Dangiwa said basis on UN-Habitat’s vision “a better quality of life for all in an urbanising world” aligns fully with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration of Sustainable and Urban Development.

“So as a ministry, we have a plan to increase access to decent, quality and affordable housing for all Nigerians.

“This includes 80 per cent of low and medium income segments of the society.

“It is for this reason that I am impressed with your Strategic Plan for the period 2020-2023. I see several points of intersection with the Renewed Hope Agenda of our government,’’ he said.

Dangiwa urged UN-Habitat to continue to render technical support to the ministry as the focal point for implementation of Sustainable Development Goals especially Goal 11, aimed at making towns and cities safe and sustainable.

“We will like to seek UN-Habitat collaboration in advancing the SDGs and helping us to mobilise multilateral funding for our Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrading Projects and New City Development Project,’’ he said.

The minister assured the UN-Habitat director of the country’s commitment to fulfill its obligations.

“We have set in motion the process for our country to pay its statutory contribution to UN-Habitat; this was delayed due to the transition to a new administration in the country.

“We belief that the continuous funding support for the UN-Habitat Support Office (UN-HAPSO) in Nigeria will reposition the office to adequately play its role in providing technical support services to housing stakeholders in our country.

“In developing a future work plan, we will like to have a series of engagements with UN-Habitat so that the activities and programmes mapped out will align with the priorities of the current administration,” Dangiwa said.

He expressed optimism that the visit would bring more impactful partnership between the ministry and UN-Habitat that would reflect the vision which included reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities.

Earlier, the leader of UN-Habitat delegation, Sylla congratulated the minister on his appointment and pledged the organisation’s support with the government on the realisation of urban development.

“We have a long standing partnership with Nigeria in various areas and at the continental level.

“We have been promoting sustainable urbanisation and Nigeria has been supporting the development of the new urban agenda which is the frame work of acceleration of the SDGs.

“At the national level, we are working in support of the revision of National Urban Policy, National Housing Policy and supporting member states in planning to anticipate growth, where UN- habitat is bringing its expertise,’’ he said.

Sylla said that the organization was working in various states on the issue of basic service and support many states like Yobe on provision of water and sanitation especially during COVID 19.

“Moving forward, we are here to see how best we can start this collaboration between UN-habitat and the government of Nigeria knowing that there is a new administration and new vision.

“We are happy to see urbanisation being one of the priority areas of this government where UN-habitat can bring some valid addition to make sure the cities offer better lives to all citizens.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the UN-habitat is the leading agency on human settlement and urbanisation that provide support to member states in anticipation of urban expansion.

The organisation also supports member countries to make sure cities become livable place and energetic for economic transformation.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

========

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Ekemini Ladejobi

By Uche Bibilari

The Nigeria IDP Diaspora Support Group (NIDSG) in partnership with the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) has supported pregnant women and children in Abuja Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs’) Camp with free medical services.

The Founder/ Chairman of the group, Mr Kelvin Obi, at a 3-day medical outreach in Kuchingoro and Waru IDP camps, said the group was on a medical mission in Nigeria.

Obi said the group, with a team of 12 medical experts based in the UK were on a medical mission in Nigeria.

According to him, the group is focused on maternal, child health and mental health.

He said that the group also held workshops for community health workers and trained 30 nurses to help reduce death of mother and child during birth.

“We saw the plight of many Nigerians and decided to help, we have two areas of focus, which are maternal and child health and mental health.

“They are significant gap in these areas in Nigeria and we feel these are gaps we can fill that is why we are here today in Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, the group has also trained some adults and children trauma counsellors.

He appreciated the Chief Medical Director, UATH, Prof. Bissallah Ekele for his supports to the group.

Dr Sambo Thomas, a Senior Registrar, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UATH, commended the group for their regular medical missions to IDP camps.

The team of experts led by Prof. Rotimi Jaiyesimi donated surgical scrubs and medical consumables to UATH.

The Deputy Director Information, Sani Suleiman, while receiving the donation on behalf of Ekele, appreciated the efforts of the group and said the items would impact positively in service delivery in the facility. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

=========

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Isaac Aregbesola

By Felicia Imohimi

The Chartered Institute of Social Work Practitioners of Nigeria (C-ISOWN) , has solicited Federal Government`s support on training and retraining of practitioners to maintain minimum standard and uniform practice.

Dr Iyeme Efem, Immediate Past President of the institute made the call when a delegation from C-ISOWN visited the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on Friday in Abuja.

He said the visit was to pledge their support and readiness to work collaboratively with the minister to achieve the ministry’s mandate.

Efem appealed to the minister to support it in building capacities of social workers and support the professionalisation of the practice.

“We see this as the panacea to building a strong social work practice in Nigeria and in Africa at large,”he said.

He expressed the institute’s readiness to support the ministry’s programmes to professionalise social work practice and increase the army of professional social workers.

According to him, such collaboration would address the myriad of social ills affecting the country.

He said that the institute provides opportunities for intending social workers, to gain practical field experience through internships or participating in various activities and projects.

According to him, the projects can either be offered by the institute or in partnership with government agencies and international organisations.

Efem said “the organisation has been implementing the USAID/Fistula Projects in Nigeria since 2007.

He said the partnership had provided the project the avenue to introduce various social work skills building opportunities for Nigeria.

“The current USAID/MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics (MSSFPO), implemented by EngenderHealth provided the institute with a new strategy of rehabilitation and reintegration.

“This strategy fits perfectly with the activities of the ministry. So, we have been very excited to work as partners with the project and the ministry to expand the capacity building of social workers.

“One of the main components is the development of the counseling protocol for implementing rehabilitation and reintegration.

“Another is the development of a compendium of skills building centers in the implementation states.

“We believe that this will be very useful for developing the next generation of social workers who will anchor most of the rehabilitation of women with fistula and social issues,” he said.

He appealed to the minister to sponsor the relevant officers in the ministry, to participate in the special membership and induction programme for senior officers in service to be properly registered.

He informed the minister of the institute upcoming international conference scheduled for Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

The minister, Dr Betta Edu assured them of the ministry’s collaboration with the institute to move the issues of humanitarian affairs forward in the country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

=========

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Edeh

By Perpetua Onuegbu

The Federal Government has solicited the release of 50 hectares of land by state governments to enable it actualise its Renewed Cities Agenda in housing delivery for citizens.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed  Dangiwa, made this call when the Governor of Taraba, Dr Agbu Kefas, paid him a courtesy visit on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the present administration’s plan to deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda for housing needed the support of states in the provision of land.

Dangiwa said that under the first phase of the project, government planned to build 34,500 houses nationwide using FMBN, FHA and Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to achieve this.

He said that decent, quality and affordable housing for all Nigerians was a major priority of the government, adding that the ministry was working with the National Population Commission (NPC) to establish the actual housing deficit.

“Our findings in house estimates show that for us to meet the housing needs of Nigerians, we need to build about 550,000 new homes per annum over the next ten years.

“That is the massive size of our housing challenge. At the average cost of N8 million this will require about N4.4 trillion per annum.

“Records show that over the past decades, the Federal Agencies, and the Ministry of Housing combined produce less than 15,000 housing units per year.

“A key reason for this is, of course, the big elephant in the room: inadequate access to finance.

“While this is true, I also believe that we have not been innovative enough in finding solutions to meet the challenge in a bold and audacious manner,” he said.

Dangiwa said the good news, however, was that President Bola Tinubu was a   proven game-changer who had demonstrated this in all of his policy announcements.

“So, as we acknowledge the challenge before us, we are not frightened by it. Rather, we see it as a golden opportunity to make a difference in the history of affordable housing in our country.

“Already, we have written letters to be sent to all the state governors seeking about 50 hectares of land for renewed hope cities.

“I’m sure that your Excellency will be kind and gracious enough to honour our request,” he said.

Earlier, the governor said that he had come to pay a solidarity visit and pledged his support to the minister to move the ministry forward.

Kefas said the minister was not alien to Taraba, adding that “it is a good place to invest.”

He, therefore, called for collaboration with the ministry in infrastructure development, especially in housing development.

“One of the things I want to bring to your notice is that you have a property in Jalingo and it has been there empty and nobody has occupied it and we do not want it to waste.

“So, we are requesting that we want to take over that property so that we will able to provide accommodation for our civil servants.

“Also, we are available to offer you any land in Taraba to be able to build anything that will benefit our people.

“We are also aware that the ministry has made provision to build a new Federal Secretariat in Taraba state.

“We are very happy about that initiative and we want to assure you that we are ready to give you our support whenever you are ready,” Kefas said.

He, therefore, urged the minister to ensure that the secretariat was built to accommodate all the state ministries. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

======

Edited by Isaac Aregbesola