President Bola Tinubu has been appointed as the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.
President Tinubu’s agenda includes plans to train 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide within 16 months, and to double the number of primary health facilities in communities across all local government areas of Nigeria from 8,800 to over 17,000 over the next three years.
Additionally, he aims to double the enrollment capacity of health personnel from accredited nursing and midwifery institutions to meet the increasing demand created by the expansion of healthcare facilities.
Furthermore, President Tinubu has pledged to establish a paid volunteer youth force of social accountability officers tasked with monitoring the operational functioning and financial integrity of primary health centers. These efforts have garnered attention and acclaim from the African Union, leading to his appointment as the AU Champion for Health.
The Commission of the African Union, through its Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), conveyed the appointment in a letter to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. President Tinubu was recommended for the role by the Committee of Heads of State and Government of Africa CDC, under the leadership of President Azali Assoumani of the Union of Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union.
In his new capacity, President Tinubu has been invited to address the Ministerial Executive Leadership Programme (MELP) on the theme of ‘Impactful leadership in health: a whole government approach’. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Africa CDC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, coinciding with the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government.
