The President of Vicar Hope Foundation, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu, said that the foundation had made a considerable leep in it’s programmes last year covering advocacy, health, skills acquisition,provision of shelter and others.
In an end of the year address to the board members of the foundation at Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, the Governor’s wife, who founded the foundation stated that the foundation is increasingly making progress on its objectives and goals.
Mrs. Ikpeazu, expressed joy over the numerous successes the foundation has achieved especially the growth in its mandate of touching lives and making it more meaningful for the downtrodden in the society.
In the area of advocacy to end sickle cell disease the foundation play critical role to visiting government agencies, the judiciary, police command, the legislature and the executive arms of government and at the end was able to get the state legislative arm to passed genotype law requiring every Abia indigene and residents to declare their genotype and blood group before getting married.
The 3, year strategic plan for sickle cell spanning 2016-2019 with early predictions from the monitoring and evaluation unit Mrs. Ikpeazu said, indicated an 85% success rate on goals.
The Governor’s wife also said that 2019 witnessed increase collaboration with partners, sponsors, donor agencies and advocates of sickle cell reduction which led to the expansion of our messages, subsidised care for patients and cut cost because the founders believes that philanthropy still remains the best ideal for the foundation.
However, Mrs . Ikpeazu maintained that the foundation’s establishments of 2 sickle cell care centres in Aba and Umuahia have continued to function optimally, offering medical relief to patients while the outreach teams have reached more communities with targeted messages and these has made the foundation the leading agency in sickle cell care in the state.
Meanwhile, I will like to encourage the state ministry of health to continue playing it’s role as the lead policy maker and implementer in the area of sickle cell care while the foundation maintain its commitment in building partnership with relevant institutions to eradicate the scourge.
