Sani Dutsinma
The Emir of Gwandu and Chairman, Kebbi State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Muhammad Iliyasu Bashar, has pledged to mobilise traditional rulers across the state to intensify the fight against diseases affecting children.
The Emir made the commitment when he received members of the Rotary Health Communities Challenge (RHCC), who paid an advocacy visit to his palace in Kebbi State.
Represented by the District Head of Bunza and Focal Person of the Traditional Council on health activities, Dr Aminu Haliru Bunza, the Emir assured the team of the traditional institution’s support for initiatives aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of children.
Dr Bunza said the emirates would support every effort to protect children from preventable diseases, stressing that traditional rulers would take the responsibility seriously and utilise available opportunities to strengthen healthcare interventions in their communities.
He disclosed that village heads and ward leaders had already been mobilising residents within their domains, particularly on malaria prevention and polio vaccination.
According to him, traditional leaders have been addressing resistance to vaccination and encouraging communities to support immunisation activities.
Earlier, the team leader of RHCC, Past District Governor Sagab Sani, said the delegation was at the palace to seek the Emir’s support for efforts to protect the lives and future of children.
He said preventable childhood diseases, particularly malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea, continue to claim the lives of children under five.
Sani explained that the RHCC project was working directly at the grassroots by recruiting, training and equipping trusted members of local communities as health volunteers.
He said the volunteers go from house to house to provide free testing, diagnosis and life-saving treatment to families living far from healthcare facilities.
Sani stressed the importance of the support of traditional institutions, noting that government policies and interventions by development partners could not achieve their full impact without the trust and cultural authority of traditional rulers.
He commended the Emir for hosting the delegation alongside village heads and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to present the project’s advocacy message.
The RHCC is implementing a three-year intervention programme supported by Rotary International and PATH, targeting three leading causes of death among children under five in Nigeria—malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.