Nigeria is actively working to strenghten its health system by leveraging on domestic resources. The country’s health minister, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate said it anticipated a decline in global financial aid, even before the U.S.government publicly announced cuts to funding of agencies supporting developing countries.
However, the Minister commended the United States Government for its “extensive and generous support” over the years that has been crucial to the growth of the Nigerian health sector.
Mr. Pate said the Nigerian government is committed to prioritizing health.
“For the past 20 years or so, thanks to the generosity of the United States government and its people, many countries around the world have benefited from lifesaving interventions that have saved billions of lives from HIV, TB, and malaria, the Minister was quoted in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and External Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah.
“For Nigeria, we sincerely appreciate all the support received from the United States. It is unwise for any country to think it can rely entirely on another country for the health and lives of its population”, it added.
He also said the decision by the U.S. government is understandable, given its current interests. “We respect that”, he said.
“Here in Nigeria, we are focused on rebuilding our health system, strengthening and increasing our domestic resources, and providing services for our citizens. We aim to cooperate with other countries in Africa and around the world to enhance biosecurity and health security while opening up our economy to private-sector investments”, the Minister stated.
Prof. Pate further explained that Nigeria has approved the ratification of the African Medicines Agency Treaty, which positions Nigeria to be part of a larger African market for what is produced locally.
“There are also investment opportunities in health that Americans are welcome to participate in. We have innovations, tools, systems, and technologies that we can trade.
“We are very open and confident that as the direction of the U.S. government evolves, Nigeria will continue to welcome genuine partnerships with the United States and other countries that share an interest in advancing humanity while respecting each nation’s interests”, Prof. Pate added.