Wife of the Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo, has donated twenty seven thousand cartoons of multivitamin supplements to over 26,000 elderly persons in the state.
The elderly, especially the octogenarians also received bags of rice at the event that took place at the ASUBEB conference hall, Awka, on Friday.
Speaking during the distribution exercise, Mrs Soludo noted that the gesture was part of her Healthy Living Initiative to make Anambra a livable and prosperous homeland in Nigeria.
She said, “With this, we are gradually detaching poor dieting in Anambra State.
She said: “Old age is a blessing. It is a stage of life that we will all get to. It is just a matter of time. So, we need to plan and prepare to do better in taking care of the elderly in our society to improve their lives.
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“Many aged persons are lonely, unhealthy and unkempt, this is why Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo as part of its programmes is prioritising care for the elderly.
“These multivitamin supplements will help to increasing the quality of life of the elderly in our communities, so that they can age gracefully and successfully,” she said
The governor’s wife added that her Healthy Living Initiative was also initiated in the state to take care of and maintain the elderly and indigent people irrespective of political affiliation.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Ben Obidike, said that the councillors in the 326 wards in the state were consulted to compile the names of the elderly in their various wards.
“We made provisions for 80 elderly persons in each of the 326 wards and our councillors will help distribute the multivitamin supplements on their various wards.
“This is the part of the Healthy Living campaign that our society should not abandon the elderly because they are still very relevant.
“The multivitamin supplements are essential nutrients that they need for their body and brain to function well,” he said
Some of the beneficiaries of Mrs Soludo’s largesse that spoke to Tribune Online, described her husband led-government as a working progress, calling on successive governments to build on the successes of the incumbent administration.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Dr Felix Chinedu Odiemegwu, and thousands of Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo supporters were also present during the event.