The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has donated two state-of-the-art mobile clinics to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to strengthen its rural healthcare delivery programme.
The donation, made under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Health Support Programme, was formally presented at a ceremony held on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Nigerian Customs Service, Maitama, Abuja.
At the event, the Taraba State Government also received one mobile clinic.
In a statement by the NYSC Director of Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu, Senator Tinubu commended successive batches of corps members for their vital role in driving the Scheme’s health interventions.
She said the mobile clinics would further support NYSC’s medical outreaches, particularly under the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD).
The First Lady explained that her visit to Taraba State last year informed the donation of a mobile clinic to the state government, aimed at complementing its efforts in healthcare delivery.
She stressed the need to ensure that the dividends of democracy reach all Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, political or other affiliations.
“Love on wheels represents care in motion. It is designed to strengthen healthcare delivery beyond hospital walls, improve access, shorten response time, and provide flexible and reliable health services, especially in emergencies and underserved areas through professional healthcare providers,” she said.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, described the gesture as a timely and strategic intervention that would significantly expand the HIRD programme.
According to him, the philosophy of the Renewed Hope Initiative, anchored on the belief that health is a right and not a privilege, aligns with the NYSC’s mandate to deliver free healthcare services to underserved communities.
General Nafiu disclosed that since the launch of HIRD in 2014, NYSC medical personnel have provided free primary healthcare, maternal services, malaria testing, health education and disease prevention campaigns to over four million Nigerians nationwide, with an average of about 360,000 beneficiaries annually.
He added that in 2025 alone, more than 6,300 corps medical personnel, including over 2,300 doctors, were deployed to remote areas to improve access to healthcare.
The NYSC boss noted that the two new mobile clinics would significantly enhance operational capacity by enabling the Scheme to reach more communities simultaneously and provide medical care to tens of thousands of additional beneficiaries.
“What has been done today has renewed the hope of millions of Nigerians,” he said, adding that the donation should serve as both support and a challenge for the Scheme to do more in extending quality healthcare and government presence to rural communities.
While expressing appreciation to the First Lady for the donation, General Nafiu assured that the mobile clinics would be effectively utilised to ensure their impact is felt across rural Nigeria.
Also speaking, Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, thanked Senator Tinubu for the gesture and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare and healthcare of residents of the state.