26
Jan
Jan
FIRST LADY DONATES MOBILE CLINICS TO BOOST RURAL HEALTHCARE IN TARABA, NYSC
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Caroline Ameh / 1 week
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- 3 min read
Nigeria’s First Lady and National Chairman of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has handed over three mobile clinic units to the Taraba State Government and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to enhance access to healthcare services in underserved and hard-to-reach communities. The handover ceremony took place in Abuja under the RHI Love on Wheels programme, an initiative designed to extend healthcare delivery beyond conventional hospital settings, particularly in rural areas. Speaking at the event, Senator Tinubu said the mobile clinics were provided to strengthen healthcare delivery by improving emergency response time and enabling flexible medical services where health facilities are limited or unavailable. She disclosed that two of the mobile clinics were pledged to the NYSC on January 23, 2025, during the commissioning of the Nigerian Digital Museum in Abuja, noting that their delivery was delayed because the units were constructed from scratch and certified to meet required operational standards. The third mobile clinic, she said, was donated to the Taraba State Government in fulfilment of a promise made during her official visit to the state on April 11, 2025, at a health programme organised for frontline healthcare workers. Senator Tinubu described the Renewed Hope Initiative as a non-partisan platform committed to the welfare of Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation. She noted that Taraba State was governed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the time the pledge was made, stressing that citizens’ wellbeing remains the initiative’s top priority. She urged the beneficiaries to ensure the mobile clinics are deployed responsibly and effectively to save lives and complement existing healthcare interventions at both state and national levels. Receiving the donation, Taraba State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas, expressed gratitude to the First Lady, describing the mobile clinic as a critical intervention that would significantly improve healthcare access in rural communities across the state. “This donation goes beyond party lines and will help address long-standing challenges in access to quality healthcare,” the governor said. Also speaking, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, commended the First Lady for her sustained support for the health sector, describing the initiative as a meaningful contribution to strengthening national healthcare delivery. In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Oluseye Nafiu, said the two mobile clinics would boost the Corps’ medical outreach programmes in underserved communities.He revealed that NYSC medical personnel have delivered primary healthcare services to over four million Nigerians, with an average of about 360,000 beneficiaries annually. According to him, in 2025 alone, the Corps deployed 6,344 medical personnel, including 2,319 doctors, to expand access to free healthcare services in remote areas. The three mobile clinics were formally handed over to the Taraba State Government and the National Youth Service Corps at the conclusion of the ceremony.