The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an NGO, has appointed Dr. Mairo Mandara as Country Representative to Nigeria. This was contained in a statement signed by Mr James Whittington, Senior Communications Officer, Africa and Middle East and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
The statement said Mandara is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and has extensive knowledge of public health systems , managing maternal and child health programs in Nigeria.
Mr Laurie Lee, the Foundation’s Director for Africa said “we are delighted to have Mandara join the team at an incredibly important time for our work in Nigeria. ``Her knowledge, experience and expertise will be hugely valuable in helping to improve people’s health and reducing poverty. ’’
It added that Mandara had her medical training at the University of Jos, and practiced at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, between 2005 and 2010. According to the statement, Mandara was a Senior Country Adviser in Nigeria to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and worked as the Nigeria-based Health Systems Adviser for the Earth Institute at New York’s Columbia University.
In her reaction to the appointment, Mandara said: “I’m excited to be joining the Foundation and am looking forward to working with local partners in Nigeria to help deliver improved health and economic opportunities for the poor’’.
The Bill and Belinda Gates Foundation seeks to research, develop and implement low-cost innovations for health and development to help all people lead healthy and productive lives.
The Foundation’s focus areas in Nigeria includes, strengthening routine childhood immunisation programmes, improving access to safe, timely, and appropriate treatment of childhood diseases, and achieving polio eradication.
Others are assisting smallholder farmers to increase food production, through improved agricultural tools and strategies, ensuring that women are empowered to seek healthcare during and after pregnancy and have access
to family health services and improving access to water and sanitation facilities and expanding the provision of financial services for the poor.
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