IHS Nigeria: “Better Connections, Better Opportunities”

 Uzoma Mba reports that IHS Nigeria is bent on delivering better opportunities and even connections to empower people, all geared at transforming economies, improving quality of life and all-around development 

IHS Nigeria consistently seeks opportunities to empower people, transform economies, and improve the quality of life of stakeholders to stimulate and sustain all-around development. 

Aligned with Nigeria’s national aspirations to make telecommunications a tool for economic advancement, IHS’s global sustainability framework matches this goal. 

IHS focuses on sustainability basing its strategy on four pillars: Ethics and Governance, Environment and Climate Change, Education and Economic Growth and Communities.

Over the last five years, IHS sustainability programs have impacted over two million direct beneficiaries through partnerships with schools, universities, governments, and award-winning NGOs such as WeForGood, Leap Africa, and Field of Skills and Dreams to deliver sustainable initiatives that impact lives.

Promoting Sustainable Health Interventions

In 2016, IHS Nigeria blazed the trail in supporting the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) policy of the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria, through the roll-out of the Project “Wellness-On-Wheels” (PWOW) – a free mobile health clinic program.

 In 2021, the project was upscaled to Project Clinic Without Walls. It now provides a micro health insurance scheme and telehealth services on toll-free lines for low-income populations in partnership with AXA Mansard. This intervention has a direct impact on over 28,000 beneficiaries.

The company has also partnered the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID/Nigeria) to provide HIV test kits and advance HIV/AIDS sensitisation and prevention, in Nigeria. 

This collaboration provided 70,000 HIV Rapid Test Kits to Bayelsa State, with 8,685 beneficiaries tested and 356 people linked to treatment.

Expanding the Bandwidth of CARE

During the COVID-19 pandemic, IHS Nigeria saw an opportunity to bolster the healthcare system in Nigeria and support the effort to curb the spread of the virus. 

The goal was to secure effective partnerships to identify solutions that enable the company to sustain its long-term commitments and increase efforts to support the fight against COVID-19.

Working closely with UNICEF Nigeria, IHS supported the expansion of the NCDC’s testing capacity, with over 1,601,396 samples tested for COVID-19 in 53 locations across the country in 2020. IHS has also provided PPE kits to main isolation centres in Nigeria.

In contribution to the health ministry’s National Strategy for the Scale-up of Medical Oxygen in Health Facilities, IHS established 25 cylinders of 6m3 capacity per day oxygen plant at the Paelon Memorial Hospital. IHS also began a two-year partnership with UNICEF to provide oxygen security access in Oyo and Kano States.

Facilitating Equitable and Quality Education in STEM

IHS is dedicated to improving education in Nigeria by providing the best infrastructure and raising the standard of learning to achieve SDG 4: Quality Education, through the IHS Nigeria Mission-T intervention. 

In partnership with Tech Quest, IHS has impacted over 52,052 students, 3,422 teachers, and 706 schools across 36 states. IHS, through its collaboration with Save the Children, is also supporting female children aged six to 14 who are affected by crises to exercise their rights to education and gender equality in the north-eastern Nigerian states of Borno and Yobe. The objective is to connect with 24,000 (10,000 out of school and 14,000 in school) crisis-affected girls who live in the selected communities.

In the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, the company constructed an Innovation Hub for emerging skills, fully equipped with over 120 machines. These actions have impacted over 8,300 students in Nigeria.  

IHS and Gender Empowerment

IHS Nigeria recognises the importance of raising awareness, combating gender stereotypes, and encouraging an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity. 

To eliminate glass ceilings for women in technology, the leads programs encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This ranges from early childhood education to postgraduate programs, with women accounting for 60 per cent of all STEM beneficiaries.

In 2019, the Women in IHS Network was launched to promote gender empowerment in IHS. The WIIN initiative is a mentoring program for female employees creating a safe circle of trust where the female employee can share sensitive issues of concern, encourage cross-learning, and uplift women to achieve their full potential.

IHS Energy and Environmental Hub

Businesses are increasingly becoming more ambitious, bolder, and courageous in their approach to social impact, diversifying how they can maximise their value to society while meeting commercial objectives. 

Therefore, IHS launched the IHS 600-capacity Energy Hub and Laboratory. The hub provides economic opportunities to start-ups and freelancers currently facing operational difficulties due to the high cost of office space, furniture, power, and internet.

Driving Sustainable Waste Management

IHS has installed a Wastewater Recycling Plant around the office operations. This plant produces recycled water at the offices and has reduced water costs, improved environmental compliance, and helped protect the ecosystem. The company is using this as an example across other markets.

Access to Electricity

In 2016, a partnership agreement was signed with SOS Children’s Villages; the villages received diesel generators. This was followed by a partnership with Pathfinder International, an international NGO operating in over 20 countries. 

Through this partnership, IHS Nigeria has provided 20 health centres with generators, which have helped provide life-saving access to healthcare for thousands of people. Over four years, the programme has operated across 30 States in Nigeria alone. 

 QuoteIHS focuses on sustainability basing its strategy on four pillars: Ethics and Governance, Environment and Climate Change, Education and Economic Growth and Communities