NIGERIA PUSHES FOR ROBUST AFRICAN HEALTH SYSTEMS AT AU SUMMIT
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By: Fasasi Hammad
Nigeria has called on African nations to prioritize health security sovereignty, urging a shift from dependency on foreign aid toward self-reliant, locally driven health systems.
Vice President Kashim Shettima made the appeal on Friday during a high-level side event titled “Building Africa’s Health Security Sovereignty” at the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Shettima emphasized that Africa must shield its health systems from the uncertainties of distant supply chains and the unpredictability of global crises.
“Nigeria stands ready to work with all member states to make health security sovereignty tangible—through commissioned factories, accredited laboratories, trained health workers, dismantled counterfeit markets, and expanded insurance coverage,” he said.
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Highlighting Africa’s vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shettima warned that endurance alone is not a strategy. “Health security is national security, and on a connected continent, national security is continental security. A virus does not carry a passport. Counterfeit medicines do not respect borders. Pandemics do not wait for bureaucracy,” he declared.
Shettima outlined measures under President Tinubu’s leadership to strengthen the nation’s health system, including boosting local pharmaceutical production, increasing domestic health financing, and tightening regulatory oversight.
He cited the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, launched in December 2023, which secured over $2.2 billion to renovate more than 17,000 primary healthcare centres, train 120,000 frontline health workers, and expand health insurance coverage within three years.
The Vice President also highlighted Nigeria’s work in epidemic intelligence, genomic surveillance, and emergency preparedness through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), alongside stricter regulation and quality control by NAFDAC to curb substandard medicines.
Beyond public systems, Nigeria is implementing the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PIPUHVAC) to remove structural bottlenecks for local pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device assemblers, and biotech innovators.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to workforce development and resilient health systems, addressing rural-urban gaps and strengthening capacity across the continent.
Africa CDC Director General, Dr. Jean Kaseya, praised Nigeria’s leadership, stressing the importance of pooled resources to tackle fragmented health investments. Health ministers from Senegal, Malawi, and Ethiopia also expressed support, aligning with Nigeria’s call to enhance workforce databases and bolster community health systems.
The forum concluded with AU Ministers of Health and Finance urging heads of state to increase political commitment and sustained funding for human resources and community health systems. Targets were set to scale the continental workforce to two million community health workers by 2030, alongside strengthened national acceleration plans and increased domestic financing for primary health care, universal health coverage, and pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response.
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