Wife of Taraba State Governor, Anna Darius Ishaku has commended Fidelity Bank Plc for providing a three-day free medical outreach to 829 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kona community, Jalingo Taraba State, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
The Hope Afresh Foundation organised the outreach in collaboration with employees of the bank who, driven purely by altruistic values and an innate desire to make the world a better place, pulled their resources together to offer free qualitative healthcare to the people.
The first lady applauded the Bank for identifying healthcare as an integral part of its CSR strategy especially during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Addressing beneficiaries in Kona Community, the Governor’s wife appealed to the indigenes to carry out regular medical checkups in order to reduce cases of diabetes, cancer, hepatitis, high blood pressure, amongst other ailments.
Mrs. Ishaku who is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hope Afresh Foundation encouraged indigenes of the community to come out in large numbers to take part in the free medical outreach. She however urged other corporate bodies, non-governmental and governmental organizations and other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the bank by giving back to the society. In the same vein, Chief (KURU) of Kona, HRH Augustine Njenmang Vengkani also expressed sincere gratitude to the Bank for the kind gesture.
Commenting on the benefits of the exercise, Fidelity Bank MD/CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo stated that the outreach is in line with the bank’s CSR philosophy which focuses on the environment, education, health and social welfare. Okonkwo who was represented by the Head of CSR & Sustainability, Chris Nnakwe pointed out that corporate philanthropy remains an effective way to positively influence the society.
Okonkwo noted that the Bank has invested in the Health sector through infrastructural development, medical outreach and others. “At Fidelity Bank, we understand that good health and well-being are fundamental to sustainable development. As much as the world has made significant progress in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, basic access to healthcare remains a challenge in Nigeria”, he added
The outreach provided many opportunities for employees of the bank to bond and build mutually beneficial relationships with the people of Kona community and Taraba State. By collaborating with the Hope Afresh Foundation, the bank provided a variety of medical tests and prescription drugs that would help promote the general health and well-being of IDP’s in Kona community of Taraba State.