By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), said they invested over $42.2 million in direct social investment in 2023, through investments fund community, health, education, road safety and enterprise programmes.
SCiN said the investments aimed to contribute positively to socio-economic development in the communities where they operate.
A breakdown of the social investment as contained in the latest Nigeria Briefing Notes 2023 shell.com.ng showed that:
- In 2022, SPDC closed out its existing Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) agreements as part of the transition to the management of community matters through the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDTs). By 2023, 27 out of the 33 HCDTs had been incorporated. These Trusts were funded by SPDC with $42 million, representing their statutory contributions for 2022 and 2023.
- SNG concluded a five-day enterprise development training programme benefitting 150 individuals from Ogun State. The initiative provided guidance to youths with promising business ideas or skills, allowing participants to refine their abilities, improve business acumen and initiate successful ventures.
- Since securing an additional $15 million from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet to expand the Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technology (DART) programme, All On disbursed $3.9 million in 2023 to developers, resulting in over 8,600 energy access connections.
- The global Shell LiveWIRE entrepreneurship programme supported 73 businesses through training and mentorship programmes leading to 97 employment opportunities for Nigerians.
- In 2023, SNEPCo, in partnership with NNPC Ltd. and its co-venturers, remodelled the ‘E’ Wing of the arrival hall of Nigeria’s busiest airport, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The initiative has enhanced passengers’ experience with reduced immigration clearance time and more effective queue management.
Aside from these social investments, Shell also said in conjunction with its joint venture (JV) partners, contributed $4.1 million to aid those impacted by the conflict in north-east Nigeria.
The Briefing Notes further said: “The donation focused on addressing health needs in Yobe State, involving the construction and equipping of a primary healthcare centre in Dagare, providing free surgeries and healthcare professional training.
“Additionally, the contribution supported the establishment of an ICT centre in Bauchi State University, aimed at enhancing technology access and literacy in the region. Furthermore, Shell facilitated enterprise training and distributed business start-up kits to 5,550 individuals in Yobe and Borno States, fostering economic empowerment in the area.”
These investments aimed to contribute positively to socio-economic development in the communities where they operate.
Quality health care
Specifically, the Notes further elaborated that in the area of affordable and quality health care, SCiN have supported community health programmes in Nigeria since the 1980s, benefitting many Nigerians:
- In 2023, SPDC supported 10 healthcare centres in the Niger Delta and signature intervention projects throughout Nigeria.
- The Health-in-Motion mobile community healthcare programme, providing free medical services directly to communities, has benefitted over one million individuals since its inception in the early 2000s. Supported by funding from SPDC, SNEPCo and their partners, the programme continued its commitment in 2023, assisting an additional 17,358 people.
- Since its inception in 2010, the Community Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS) has positively impacted over 98,000 individuals. In 2023, an additional 5,900 people enrolled in the programme, which provides coverage for both primary and secondary care services. CHIS is a collaborative partnership involving SPDC, the Rivers State government, and local communities.
- In 2023, over 2,500 babies were safely delivered in the Obio Cottage Hospital, a specialist maternal and paediatric hospital. More than 40,000 safe births have been recorded since the launch of CHIS at the hospital in 2010, and the hospital is now self-sustaining.
- The Shell-funded Oloibiri Health Programme (OHP) has enabled the accreditation of the School of Health Technology for the training and empowerment of healthcare workers in Bayelsa State. The communities’ use of the OHP has tripled in Ogbia, with safe deliveries of babies increasing from 433 per month to 608 at the General Hospital Kolo and Oloibiri Primary Health centre. The management of the OHP has now transferred to an indigenous organisation, the Oloibiri Health Programme Limited.
Promoting educational development
In education, SCiN said they have a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives. Since the 1950s, Shell scholarship schemes have supported thousands of students in Nigeria:
- In 2023, SPDC, SNEPCo and SNG invested over $3 million in education programmes. More than 3,450 secondary school grants, 3,772 university grants and 1,062 cradle-to-career scholarship grants have been awarded since 2016.
- Since 2013, the Niger Delta Post Graduate Scholarship has benefitted 109 recipients. Offering one-year scholarships to three United Kingdom universities, this programme provides young Niger Deltans with the opportunity to pursue studies in energy-related subjects at leading universities in the UK.
- In 2023, SPDC successfully completed the construction and delivery of the new Centre of Excellence in Geosciences and Petroleum Engineering building at the University of Benin in Edo State. The centre provides specialised postgraduate degrees in Geosciences, Petroleum Engineering, Marine and Offshore Engineering.
- Additionally, SPDC offered sabbatical and research internship opportunities to seven senior lecturers and twelve postgraduate students. These beneficiaries collaborated closely with SPDC subject matter experts in Engineering, Environment, Health, Geosciences and Social Performance.
- Shell Nigeria Gas completed the construction of a classroom block for Agbara Grammar School, a local secondary school in Ogun State. This block comprises six classrooms and a modern toilet block.
- SNEPCo continued the construction of two educational infrastructure projects valued at $15 million:
- A $10 million Geosciences Centre of Excellence for the University of Lagos, and
- A $5 million e-library project for the Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State.