By ‘Dotun Akintomide
To deepen philanthropists’ contribution to Africa, the Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), Her Excellency, Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki has on Monday tasked governments across Africa “to create enabling environment for home-grown philanthropy and social investments” so as to confront the multifaceted challenges facing the continent head-on.
HE, Mrs Saraki who spoke at the African Philanthropy Forum, 2017 themed: “African Philanthropy in a Changing Global Context,” called for greater synergy between government agencies and aid organizations.
The forum was aimed at exploring the role of philanthropists in shaping the continent’s future through their influence and role as catalysts to showcase strategies for promoting collaborations, lessons learned and opportunities for deepening and strengthening philanthropy.
Speaking on the panel entitled: “The Role of Government in Fostering Homegrown Philanthropy,” HE, Mrs Saraki proffered solutions on issues bordering on limited collaboration between governments at the federal, state and local levels and philanthropists for solving problems to scale up high-impact initiatives.
She spoke alongside Co-Panelists: Mr George Kronnisanyn Werner, the Liberian Minister of Education, and Okey Enelamah, the Nigerian Minister of Trade & Investment. The panel was moderated by Jane Wales, the CEO of Global Philanthropy Forum & World Affairs.
In her words: “I am delighted to join philanthropists and Government representatives to discuss what African governments can do to create an enabling environment for home-grown philanthropy and social investments.
“Africa, with some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and yet facing huge challenges, presents a massive opportunity for those wishing to invest. It also represents a risk for philanthropists, both home-grown and from abroad, due to key issues that Governments all over the continent must deal with in order to facilitate effective philanthropy and foster investments.”
HE, Mrs Saraki, while sharing some of her organization’s success stories in partnering with the government to address social challenges stated: “The enormous benefit of governments partnering with philanthropists is avoiding the ‘one size fits all’ approach.
“At the WBFA, we never sought to work against the local context or alienate existing organizations. Instead we collaborate with stakeholders and existing structures to create innovative but pragmatic measures which have an enormous impact on health outcomes,” she added.
“That collaboration has led to the Personal Health Record (PHR) and the Safe Delivery Kit – otherwise known as the ‘Mama Kit’ – being adopted into the very frontline of the Nigerian health system. The PHR enables expectant mothers and midwives to track pregnancy progress and highlights the importance of immunization and birth registration. The Mama Kits share this principle of giving mothers access to the simple tools that can save their lives. These clean birthing kits include all necessary materials and consumables to achieve a safe childbirth, transforming any incidental delivery location to the likeness of an equipped health facility,” she said.
