Mohammed Asibelua, Equinox Group Ltd executive chairman, is an advocate for change in his home country, Nigeria, shining a light on challenging issues such as food security, health care systems, education standards, unemployment and renewable energy. This article will look at the 65th edition of Nigeria’s National Council on Health (NCH) convention, which took place in Maiduguri, Borno State, and was attended by delegates from diverse sectors that make up the country’s health sector.
Staged in November 2024, NCH 2024 was informed by three sub-themes:
- Health Workforce Development
- Community Engagement and Health Promotion
- Innovations in Digital Health
Some 1,150 participants attended NCH 2024, including members of the Borno State House of Assembly and representatives from local government, the National Population Commission, the armed forces and the Department of State Services. Staged following publication of the Nigerian Health Sector’s Joint Annual Review and the 2023 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey report, the 65th NCH was guided by a clear strategic blueprint and roadmap unveiled in the previous edition. The event was driven with the clear end goal of prioritising and strengthening programmes and strategies throughout the Nigerian health sector to accelerate progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the country by 2030.
Coordinated through a sector-wide approach, the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative was established by a health renewal contract entered into by national and sub-national governments, statutory health bodies and development partners in the country. Driven by the ethos of ‘one plan, one budget, one report, one conversation’, speeches, presentations and technical discussions that took place at NCH 2024 reflected on the strategic focus required to improve health outcomes for all Nigerians. The event emphasised the need to build a more effective, cohesive and sustainable health sector in Nigeria.
As NCH 2024 highlighted, the world is somewhat off-track in terms of making significant progress towards UHC. Dr Walter Kazadi Muolombo, a Country Representative for the World Health Organization, recommended selective prioritisation of encapsulated primary health care strategies and financial protection interventions in the run-up to 2030. In addition, in his opening remarks, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, the Honourable Minister for State Health and Social Welfare, discussed a recently released expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper outlining the federal government’s commitment to delivering UHC in an ‘inclusive, equitable and evidence-driven manner.’
Dr Salako pointed out that the paper’s key objectives are to improve health care preparedness and revitalise the Nigerian health care system. He suggested that the expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper, combined with other actions and announcements of the federal government, was demonstrative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s determination to ‘walk the talk’ with regard to UHC and general improvement of the health status of Nigerians. Dr Salako warned that continued industrial action in the health sector could potentially derail renewal plans, creating a major stumbling block to achieving UHC. Experts suggest that the ministry’s move to put in place a robust framework addressing this could be a major step forward in terms of ensuring access to health care for all Nigerian citizens.
In his keynote address at the opening ceremony, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, acknowledged that it had been a year of diligent planning and preparation that was now progressing into ‘the year of execution.’ Professor Pate delivered a concise summary of achievements recorded over the ensuing months following the unveiling of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative. Professor Pate also highlighted the impact of the Nigerian Government’s recently launched Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovations Initiative. He emphasised that the scheme had strengthened community engagement, as well as increasing primary health care service utilisation and providing financial protection for vulnerable and underserved communities at the core of the project.
