NYSC, Oyo LG partner on grassroots health initiative

In a bid to reduce the mortality rate at the grassroots level, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Oluyole Local Government have expressed their readiness to collaborate and minimize this rate.

The Executive Chairman of Oluyole Local Government, Engr. Akeem Olatunji, and the Oyo State Coordinator of NYSC, Mr. Odoba Abel Oche, at a meeting in Ibadan, lamented the current mortality rate at the grassroots level.

They stated that the meeting was part of efforts to seek mutual collaboration and discuss strategies for enhancing youth employment prospects and opportunities, grassroots health initiatives, and youth sensitization, in line with the vision of the Seyi Makinde-led administration for Primary Healthcare.

Olatunji emphasized the importance of strategic collaboration and partnership between NYSC and Oluyole LG, as well as the need for synergy between the local government and NYSC to address the pressing issue of graduate unemployment.

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He highlighted several key areas where joint efforts could be particularly effective, including job creation initiatives, vocational training programs, and community development projects.

The Oluyole Council Chairman assured the NYSC State Coordinator that the proposed NYSC Lodge in the LG Secretariat would be ready before the commencement of the new batch deployment to the Council.

Olatunji, however, urged Corps members in Oluyole LG to be more active and make good use of the Council Secretariat for their various activities.

In his remarks, Mr. Oche expressed his appreciation for the Council Chairman’s proactive approach to grassroots governance and his commitment to the welfare of Corps members in Oluyole.

Mr. Oche also outlined NYSC’s commitment to supporting employment and skill development programs, promising that he and other relevant authorities of NYSC would make intermittent visits to the Local Government as part of routine inspection exercises.

He suggested several potential projects that could be implemented in partnership with the local government to provide Corps members, particularly those whose primary assignments fall within Oluyole LG, with practical skills and job opportunities.

While urging NYSC members serving under Oluyole LG to do so with diligence and honor, he added that they must ensure they add positive value to Oluyole throughout their service year.

Both parties resolved at the end of the meeting to deepen the existing relationship in the area of health initiatives, such that NYSC members who are medical graduates—doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and others in the health and medical field—would deploy their professional skills to drive grassroots healthcare development.

Other areas of mutual collaboration agreed upon include organizing educational and sensitization programs for secondary school students in Oluyole LG to complement the efforts of the Makinde-led government in the area of inclusive governance.

The highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the NYSC Magazine, Acts, and other souvenirs to the Executive Chairman of the Local Government.

In attendance at the meeting were the HLGA, Alhaja Naibi, Chief of Staff to the Chairman, Hon. Azeez Babalola, and other top zonal officials of NYSC in Oluyole LG.