By our Correspondent
Nigerian philanthropist and top-class pharmacist, Mr Vast Emordi, has emphasised the need for healthy Nigerians to cater for the needs of the poor and the needy in the society, saying no poor person should go to bed hungry.
Mr. Emordi, who spoke to newsmen at the sidelines of an event to mark world food day by his NGO, Drugs For The Needy, argued further that food and drugs should be provided by either the government or rich Nigerians to make life easy for the poor.
He added that poverty and growing inequality is one of the underlying causes of food insecurity.
“Poverty erodes or nullifies the rights to adequate food, housing, health, safe water, education and others”, Emordi stated.
While quoting the United Nations on food security, Mr Vast Emordi said, “Poverty and human rights such as the right to food and social security are interrelated. The right to adequate food is an essential human right, yet hundreds of millions of persons remain food insecure.
On social protection, he harped on the need for Social protection stating that it can play a key role in the progressive realization of the right to adequate food for all”,
According to him, Social protection programmes contribute to the eradication of poverty and hunger by transferring resources to people living in poverty, enabling them to generate income, protect their assets and accumulate human capital.
He revealed that Drugs for the Needy was created out of the need to support the poor, who are unable to buy drugs and food whenever they fall ill.
Emordi also urged President Bola Tinubu to revamp the health sector.
In the face of a massive exodus of health personnel from Nigeria, he advised President Bola Tinubu to take drastic measures to end the dangerous trend in the health sector.
According to Pharmacist Vast Emordi, who runs the Vastovers group, a quick intervention in revamping deplorable health centers and calculated intervention in welfare, drug provision scheme as well as emergency services, will help to upgrade care and control the brain drain.
The Pharmacist, who also provides care and support for the poor and indigent people, called on the President to prioritize health care at the grassroots and primary health care centers as people at the grassroots bear the brunt .
“Many of them cannot access care and where they get access, it becomes a problem how to pay for such care. I believe that the President should consider primary health care and drug provision at that level to keep our people alive”, Emordi concluded.
