By Michael Eboh
Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited and its Co-Venturers in the Agbami field project have reiterated their commitment to partnering the Federal and state governments in tackling the scourge of tuberculosis and other health issues in Nigeria.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 2016 World Tuberculosis Day in Abuja, Director, Star Deepwater, Mr. Jeffery Ewing said the Agbami Co-Venturers are glad for the opportunity to key into the vision of the Federal Government’s health programme which is cardinal in the economic development of the country.

According to Ewing, who was represented by Mr. Umaru Ribadu, Manager, Government Affairs, Chevron, since 2010, Chevron companies in Nigeria as well as the Agbami partners have been building ultra-modern chest clinics fitted with x-ray machines, to eradicate the spread of tuberculosis and other related diseases in Nigeria.

He said, “25 GeneXpert machines have been deployed nationwide to fast-track testing rates across the nation. Additionally, 26 science laboratories have been built nationwide to support science education, while over 15,000 scholarships have been awarded to medical and engineering scholars around the country.”

He further stated that in the next couple of weeks, the Agbami Partners would also be partnering with some Non-Governmental organization to launch a tuberculosis awareness campaign aimed at sensitizing people in Kano, Lagos, Kaduna and River States on the dangers, prevention, management and treatment of tuberculosis.

Ewing also commended the commitment of the wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and also the Federal Government, for their efforts in ensuring good healthcare delivery, which according to him, is a precursor to sustainable development of any country.

He said the commitment is already yielding positive results, as it has led to an increasingly effective control of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS among others.

“We applaud and appreciate the collaboration we have established with the Ministry of Health and others as we partner to ‘Find TB, Treat TB and Work Together to end TB’ in line with the theme of this year’s World TB day.”

As parts of its contribution to tackling the disease, Ewing said the Co-Venturers, represented by Star Deep Water, a Chevron company, had built and equipped 25 chest clinics to help manage tuberculosis in the various endemic areas in the country.

In addition to Star Deep Water, other parties to the Agbami unit operations are Famfa Oil Limited, Statoil Nigeria Limited, Petroleo Brasileiro Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.