Doris Obinna
Sterling Bank Plc and the Malaria, Child, Maternal Mortality Eradication (MACMME) project have collaborated to produce a movie entitled ‘ANAVE’ in an effort to bring greater awareness to the plight of the less privileged Nigerian child and mother.
The film, which was written, produced and directed by Nicolette Ndigwe, had Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, and Frank Nweke Jnr., former Minister of Information and Communications, as co-executive producers.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Mr. Lekan Akintemi, Head of Technology and Digital Compliance, Sterling Bank, said the lender committed itself to be at the heart of Nigeria’s accelerated development by focusing on five critical sectors of the economy: health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and transport.
“It should not be surprising that we supported the production of Anave; a malaria infant and maternal mortality advocacy movie – because it promotes health and improved access to healthcare for the most vulnerable in the society.
In line with our commitment to the health sector, we are continuously developing solutions that would promote preventive health as part of our overall strategy towards making Nigeria a nation that is populated by healthy people.”
Explaining further, Ndigwe said: “Anave tells the story of an eight-year-old boy whose mother dies from malaria complications at childbirth, leaving him at the mercy of an orphanage. He ends up on the street in a quest for an education where he faces the struggles of the vulnerable poor and homeless.”
She said the movie campaign would raise a voice for the plight of the underprivileged Nigerian child and mother, 3, 000 of whom die daily from preventable diseases and about the need to cooperate in the fight against malaria mortality, the creation of basic health care, as well as housing and education opportunities for the underprivileged Nigerians.
According to her, ANAVE parades some of Nigeria’s most celebrated artistes and actors such as Omawunmi Megbele, Aituaje Iruobe popularly known as Waje, Shawn Faqua, Seun Ajayi, Rita Edwards and many others, with crew made up of internationally acclaimed cinematographer, Adekunle “Nodash” Adejuyigbe, among others.
“The film would premiere before a select audience at fund-raising events in Lagos on April 25, 2019, followed by a series of screenings to larger audiences across Nigeria, including educational institutions, as part of a plan that not only aims at sensitising the public about the plight of the underprivileged Nigerian, but also to bring about tangible and sustainable change to society’s solvable problems.”
Ndigwe wondered why the country is losing lives to sicknesses and issues as little as N1,000 could solve, implying that most of these deaths are also fueled by poverty and lack of awareness in the general populace, which is a gap that Sterling Bank desires to fill by supporting the film.