Queen Máxima in Nigeria For UN Inclusive Finance Role

As special advocate of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Inclusive Finance for Development, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of The Netherlands paid a three-day visit to Nigeria this week.

On Tuesday, Queen Máxima visited the Subol Hospital in Lagos. During the visit to the hospital, the Queen was informed about the program that helps the poorest part of the population to apply for health insurance through the mobile phone. This program is part of the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme that “aims to ensure, improve and provide an easy access to healthcare for all Nigerians at an affordable cost through various prepayment systems”. The program is organized in cooperation with the State of Lagos and PharmAccess Foundation, an international non-profit organization founded in 2001 by the Dutch clinical researcher Professor Joep Lange.

In the afternoon the Queen was recived by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, and his wife Bolanle at Lagos House. Queen Maxima praised the efforts made by the State of Lagos in the development of the health insurance scheme.

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On the second day of her trip, Wednesday November 1, Queen Maxima headed to Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria.

In the morning the Queen had several meetings with representatives of the World Bank Group and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; she also had meetings with members of the Nigerian Development Bank, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Commission for Communications (NCC) Professor Umaru Garba Danbatta and members of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Queen Máxima stressed the importance of a stronger collaboration between the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the mobile network operators to improve financial inclusion in the country.

Afterwards the Queen paid a visit to the office of a branch of the Diamond Bank in Kubwa. This office is located in a driving school and it is runs by a woman enterpreneur. In this office it is possible for the customers to open a ‘Diamond Yellow Account’, a service that offers a safe and easy means of opening and operating a full bank account combining both financial and telecommunication services.

In the afternoon the Queen had meetings with Yemi Osinbajo, Deputy Prime Minister of Nigeria, and other members of the Nigeria institutions.

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Today, Thursday November 2, the third and last day of the visit, Queen Máxima attended a seminar titled “The Role of Government in Driving Financial Inclusion in Nigeria”. The seminar was organized by the Enhacing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), a financial development organization established in 2007 that promotes financial inclusion in Nigeria. In her speech the Queen spoke of the importance of using mobile banking in order to achieve the access to financial services to a much larger population.

Queen Máxima also had a meeting with Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano.

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Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Health, Hospital, Inclusive Finance, Nigeria, Patronage, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations, Working Visit.

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