Aliko Dangote’s charity organization, the Dangote Foundation has donated $500,000 through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to support the Nigerian government’s response to managing a recent outbreak of measles that has affected many states in Nigeria. Aliko Dangote announced the donation this past weekend when he was visited by a UNICEF delegation led by Jean Gough, the UNICEF representative in Nigeria. While thanking Dangote for the donation, Gough promised that the money will be used to procure 1.7 million doses of measles vaccine and will go a long way in supporting the measles campaign which the Nigerian government is championing through its Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
“The grant is a major contribution to government’s fight against measles, which is among the leading causes of child deaths in Nigeria, especially in areas where immunization coverage is low. As we are aware, the trend of measles follows a seasonal pattern with periods of high transmission (January to June with peaks in March) and low transmission (July to December),” Gough was reported to have said at the time.
Between January and now, over 16,000 cases of measles have been reported across Nigeria. International health organizations, governments, donors and philanthropic organizations like the Dangote Foundation have made contributions towards managing the outbreak. Last year, the Dangote Foundation gave over $100 million to causes ranging from education, healthcare, flood relief and poverty alleviation.
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