The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Civic Engagement, Princess Aderemi Adebowale has said that the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration is very passionate about the welfare of Lagosians and has disbursed N600 Million to support 2,500 Lagosians through “Sanwo-Olu Listens” initiative in the last three and half years.
Adebowale revealed this during her appearance on “Your View”, a magazine programme aired on Television Continental (TVC), explaining that the Office of Civic Engagement, which is directly under the purview of Mr. Governor, acts as the link between the citizens and the government and bring governance closer to the people, especially the indigent.
The Special Adviser said that another important initiative of the Sanwo-Olu-led administration is the “Mother Infant & Child Health Development (MICHD 2050)” programme, which is a special project that looks at security from the womb. It also supports pregnant women, especially the indigent, in feeding appropriately for the proper development of the foetus, as the formation of lives starts from the womb.
Aderemi disclosed that the “MICHD 2050” programme started in 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, stressing that the Lagos State Government was able to reach out to 2000 indigent pregnant women despite the disease and has since extended the gesture to over 5000 indigent pregnant women across Lagos State.
According to her, “The Office liaised with the Local Government and Public Health Centres (PHC) and it was discovered that most pregnant women do not come to the PHC till the second trimester of their pregnancy, which is six months into their pregnancy. So we decided to start giving them food packs which contain rice, beans, wheat and all the needed vitamins and nutrients in pregnancy. This encouraged them in early registration and increased the antenatal attendance from 68% to 98%”.
She further revealed that all pregnant women that have been enrolled on the MICHD 2050 Programme also have free access to the ILERA-EKO Health insurance scheme which gives them unrestricted access to the best affordable health care.
She averred that the “Sanwo-Olu Listens” Financial Assistance Programme is a social intervention programme of the Office of Civic Engagement aimed at providing assistance to the vulnerable to mitigate their challenges, particularly in the areas of health, unforeseen disaster and accidents, loss of jobs and business empowerment of Lagosians.
In her words, “The ‘Sanwo-Olu Listens’ Financial Assistance programme depicts the other side of Mr. Governor that many people do not know. As a person, he is compassionate and also loves to reach out to people, especially the indigents and those at the grassroots, this is why he pushes programmes such as this through various Ministries. It is open to all Lagosians, you don’t need a referral and in the last three and half years we have spent over N600 million helping 2,500 Lagosians live a better life.
“EKO CARES is also another initiative that is solely aimed at eradicating extreme poverty. Under this programme, we have distributed fast-moving consumer goods worth N20,000 per person to over 6,500 so that they can sell and make instant profits”, she added.
The Special Adviser stated further that the State Ministry of Wealth Creation & Employment, The Office of Sustainable Development Goals, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation also have similar programmes which reflect some of the efforts of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, geared towards engaging Lagosians in governance and empowering the less privileged.
