The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) has announced the appointment of Dr Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko as General Manager. With the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Nigerians, the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund aims to support vulnerable groups, strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare systems and reskill the Nigerian Youth for a post COVID-19 era. To this end, the NSSF has set its main priority for 2021 going forward: To get One Million Nigerians vaccinated against COVID-19.
Dr Chinye-Nwoko is a qualified medical doctor and an accomplished executive with over ten years of experience in program management. With a proven track record in designing and implementing multi-donor projects from inception to completion, she is ideally placed to oversee the focus on a vaccination program for Nigerians, driven by her passion for healthcare delivery.
After qualifying from the University of Port Harcourt in 2010, Dr Chinye-Nwoko spent the first part of her career as a medical doctor with the Lagos State Health Service Commission. She spent four years at the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation where, amongst other initiatives, she led the development of policies and guidelines for the improvement of maternal and child health outcomes in Nigeria.
In 2019 she gained a Masters degree in Global Health Policy from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Through her consultancy work she has been at the forefront of innovations in telemedicine, and provided program management for EpiC, the USAID funded program which provides support to the Government of Nigeria to mitigate COVID-19 transmission, morbidity and mortality.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr Chinye-Nwoko to steer the NSSF towards its goal of vaccinating one million Nigerians,” says Tijani Babatunde Folawiyo, Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria.
“Her wealth of knowledge and experience in healthcare equips her to navigate this huge task, which includes making sure that our citizens are well informed about the vaccine. We are excited to move the work of the fund forward with her involvement,” he says.
 Dr Chinye-Nwoko says that she aims to contribute to the building of a resilient healthcare system in Nigeria, with a focus on removing the barriers to access quality healthcare. She says her first task will be the focus on vaccine equity and education.
 “I would love to see NSSF bring together like-minded passionate Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, to help finance this new focus. We have identified the great need for our people to be protected against COVID-19 and to this end will be working to acquire vaccines and ensure that Nigerians have the benefit of knowledge about the vaccine. We will work towards creating an understanding of why it is necessary for as many of us as possible to be protected from the disease.”
 The NSSF has raised over $ 2.4 million and is launching a new drive to encourage Nigerian philanthropists, HNIs, corporate organizations, the public sector and international businesses, to contribute to the pool. The fund for Nigerians by Nigerians aims to raise $ 50 million, and you can support this initiative by visiting https://nigeriasolidarityfund.ng/donate/. All donations will support the health and economic crises caused by the pandemic.
