By Peter Omopo
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, while the Taraba State Government also received one mobile clinic.
The donation was made under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Health Support Programme and formally presented on Tuesday at a ceremony held at the Nigerian Customs Service Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.
Speaking at the event, Senator Tinubu commended corps members for their consistent contributions to healthcare delivery across the country, noting that the mobile clinics would enhance the NYSC’s medical outreach, particularly the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD).
She explained that her visit to Taraba State in 2025 informed the decision to donate a mobile clinic to the state government, as part of efforts to complement its healthcare delivery system. According to her, access to quality healthcare should cut across ethnic, political and other affiliations to ensure that the dividends of democracy reach all Nigerians.
Describing the mobile clinics as “love on wheels,” the First Lady said the initiative represents care in motion, aimed at extending healthcare beyond hospital walls, improving access, shortening response time and supporting flexible and reliable medical services, especially in emergencies and underserved communities.
The donation was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, described the donation as a timely and strategic intervention that would significantly expand the scope of the HIRD programme.
He noted that the Renewed Hope Initiative’s philosophy—anchored on the belief that health is a right and not a privilege—aligns with the NYSC’s mandate of providing free healthcare services to underserved communities nationwide.
Nafiu disclosed that since the launch of the HIRD programme in 2014, NYSC medical personnel have delivered free primary healthcare, maternal services, malaria testing, health education and disease prevention campaigns to over four million Nigerians, with an average of about 360,000 beneficiaries annually.
According to him, in 2025 alone, more than 6,300 corps medical personnel, including over 2,300 doctors, were deployed to remote communities to improve access to healthcare services.
He added that the newly donated mobile clinics would boost the Scheme’s operational capacity, enabling it to reach more communities simultaneously and serve tens of thousands of additional beneficiaries.
Also speaking, the Governor of Taraba State, Dr Agbu Kefas, expressed appreciation to the First Lady for the donation and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare and healthcare of the people of the state.
