President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, October 25, approved three initiatives, including a programme focused on enhancing population health outcomes and the presidential initiative to unlock the healthcare value chain.
Details of this surfaced at a joint press briefing by Prof. Ali Pate, the Minister of Health, and Prof. Seniat Fisseha, Vice President for Global Programmes at the Buffett Foundation, after closed-door talks with the President at the State House, Abuja.
Emphasizing President Tinubu’s directive to “talk less and do more,” Pate emphasized the three directives to include the launch of an ambitious sector-wide programme centered on enhancing population health outcomes.
With the basic healthcare provision fund as its bedrock, the programme, he said, aims to revitalize the primary healthcare system.
Meanwhile, collaborations with state governments, communities, and traditional leaders are expected to guarantee better quality services in areas like immunization, malaria treatment, maternal and child health, and reproductive health.
“He (Tinubu) has asked us to talk less and do more. In that spirit, he has asked us to pursue a very ambitious sector-wide programme to improve population health outcomes, using the basic healthcare provision fund as a basis for reviving our primary healthcare system and working with state governments and community leaders, traditional leaders, to ensure that Nigerians get better quality services and to deal with the issues that bother them,” he said.
Announcing partnerships within the three tiers of government and development partners, Pate disclosed, “We’re very glad that the Susan-Buffett Foundation is willing to partner with the government of Nigeria to advance the health and wellbeing of all, especially our adolescent girls and women.”
The second focal point was unlocking the healthcare value chain.
He said the president approved a presidential initiative working towards the medical industrialization of the nation.
The initiative will encourage collaborations between the public and private sectors, with the government guaranteeing an enabling environment and the private sector focusing on critical healthcare production, he explained.
Pate said President Tinubu’s directive to design a social action fund is intended to capacitate communities at the grassroots.
Representing the Buffett Foundation was Prof. Fisseha, its Vice President for Global Programmes, who said the foundation, known for its focus on girls, women, and primary healthcare, aligns perfectly with the goals of the government.
He cited the President’s action-driven approach, stating, “I do like the President’s direction on talking less and doing more, and getting to action.
“So, we are extremely excited. I don’t want to duplicate what has been said. We hope that we will be a committed partner to supporting the federal as well as state governments and communities to deliver health for all, so thank you very much for the opportunity today.”
