We will ensure good health for all Nigerians -FG

Bukola Afeni

The Honourable Minister of Health Muhammad Ali Pate has expressed the federal government’s commitment to work with governments at all levels and relevant stakeholders to ensure good health for all Nigerians.

The Minister reaffirmed this during his visit with the Executive Secretary of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency  (NPHCDA) Dr Faisal Shuaib and the GAVI CEO, David Marlow, to supervise the immunisation of children in Karu local government, Nasarawa state.

Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, in his welcome remarks, said that his administration and that of the president are on a mission to transform the country and make it a better place especially with the health sector making it one of the pillars of transformation.

He added that the Global Alliance For Vaccine Immunization, GAVI, will consider Nigeria in the distribution of the novel Malaria Vaccine.

” My boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,  has embarked on a mission to transform this country to make it better, and with health as one of the pillars of the transformation and at the core of it is the health and well-being of the people of the country.

“Health is so vital to the present, but also the future of this country. The health of our children, the health of a woman, the health of our adults, elders, everyone.

In consistency with the spirit of transformation, we realize and we know that traditional leaders are the custodians of the tradition of the people, we are with the people every day. Good bad, You are with the people and when we partner with you, we succeed.

“We saw that with polio, we saw that with many of the children that had been done in other areas because hard work is what matters to the people, and so it is in that spirit, that when we engage with our global partners like GAVI’, he said.

The Minister further added that a lot of progress has been made in terms of immunization in Nasarawa state.

” We felt that with the Chief Executive, we should come up and present ourselves to reaffirm the partnership that exists within the government and yourselves to ask for your support, your prayers, your guidance because you did a lot and you are continuing to do a lot to help advance the cause of health and immunization in particular.

“So we thank you for that. I think a lot has been said as the progress that has been made on immunization and Nassarawa states” ” the Minister noted.

The  GAVI CEO, Davide Marlow said that GAVI is ready to continue its partnership with the Federal Ministry of Primary Health Care in Nigeria to advance the healthcare system in Nigeria.

 “It is a great privilege to be here today with you and to connect and see how you are facing the challenges of health in your communities.

 We want to see how we can support strengthening primary healthcare systems.  We want to understand your needs and challenges.

” We are here to look after the countries that we work and we will continue the strong partnership that we built over many many years since the year 2002.

We have been active in Nigeria, and although there have been many accomplishments in making progress in overall healthcare in the country. There is still a huge amount of work to be done”, he said.

 According to the GAVI CEO, Nigeria has the largest zero-base children population in the world.

“We want to prevent death in Nigeria, and also save many lives. This partnership is very important to us, and we will do everything to serve the communities. We will strengthen the work we do”, he said.

The Executive Director of  NPHCDA, Dr, Faisal Shuaib, commended the GAVI team for all the support over the years.

“The essence of the visit will be made manifest in days to come. The visit will benefit the primary health care agency in Nasarawa state.

” It is not an accident that we are here. It is not just because of the proximity of Karu that we are here. We want to show our partner progress in terms of their investment in immunization and primary health care”, he said.