- VP meets global health partners at Presidential Villa
Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the current Federal Government will pay closer attention to increasing domestic health financing, industrialisation and improved health outcomes in its agenda.
Shettima gave the assurance when he hosted a delegation from global health partners – the Global Fund, U.S President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), and the U.S President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – at the Presidential Villa yesterday in Abuja.
The Vice President, who restated the commitment of the Tinubu administration to repositioning Nigeria’s healthcare system, pledged the President’s political support to “improve health outcomes for all Nigerians, increased domestic financing for health, and promoting health industrialisation”.
In a statement by the Director of Information in his office, Mr. Olusola Abiola, the Vice President said: “These are three major commitments I am making on behalf of my boss. Rest assured that our word is our bond.
“I want to assure you that we are determined to catapult the nation to a higher pedestal. We are committed to changing the narrative of inclusive growth, of a Nigeria where every black man will be proud of.”
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He added: “President Tinubu is a man of vision and he has the courage to follow through whatever he believes in. From the appointment of the Minister of Health, there is a clear testimony to the drive, the political commitment of the President and the current leadership towards repositioning the Nigerian nation.
“The Minister of Health is a man of impeccable credentials. He is a celebrated public health practitioner with the experience, exposure and commitment to drive the change we seek in the health sector.”
Shettima urged the global health partners and other stakeholders in the health sector to support the new leadership in the Federal Ministry of Health to actualise the President’s vision for all Nigerians.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said the visit of the global health partners was aimed at examining the progress so far made and reassure the Tinubu administration of their commitment to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, among others.
The U.S Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador John Nkengasong, said the visit, which coincided with the commemoration of U.S Government’s 20 years of support to Nigeria’s fight against HIV/AIDS through the PEPFAR initiative, provided an opportunity for the partners to appreciate the vision and direction of the Tinubu administration for the health sector.
Mr. Peter Sands of the Global Fund and David Walton of the President’s Malaria Initiative urged all stakeholders to sustain the fight against malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis to achieve the 2030 target of eradicating HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
Other dignitaries at the meeting included the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu; US Consul General in Lagos, Will Stevens and the WHO Country Representatives, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo.