Nigeria’s Health Minister has been recognised as one of the most influential figures shaping the future of global health.
Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, famed for his commitment to health equity, system reforms, and primary healthcare advancement, is among two Nigerians in the list. The other is Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, mni, a Director of Nutrition in the west African nation’s health ministry.
In a statement released by Alaba Balogun, Director, Information and Public Relations of the Ministry, on Friday, the TIME100 Health list honours leaders, innovators, advocates, and change-makers whose work is transforming health systems, advancing medical science, and improving lives worldwide.
“Nigeria is undergoing a historic transformation in its health sector focused on improved governance, better health outcomes, unlocking healthcare value chains, and bolstering health security”, the statement read.
“The recognition of two Nigerians from the same institution underscores the country’s rising influence in global health leadership and not only honours the individual achievements of Prof. Pate and Mrs. Bako-Aiyegbusi, but celebrates Nigeria’s bold strides in health reform, nutrition policy, and global leadership in advancing public health”, it added.
Chief of Pate’s health reforms is the Nigerian Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, anchored by a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) that promotes strategic coordination among government institutions, development partners, and private sector stakeholders to ensure impactful and accountable investments.
Under his leadership, strategic priorities include revitalising primary healthcare by strengthening frontline health facilities and expanding the community health workforce, scaling up maternal, newborn, and child health services to reduce preventable mortality, accelerating malaria elimination efforts, including the introduction of the malaria vaccine, and promoting local production of health commodities and strengthening the health workforce for national resilience.
Mrs. Bako-Aiyegbusi was honoured for her pioneering leadership in advancing national nutrition policy and driving systemic food and nutrition reforms. Her work has been instrumental in improving maternal and child nutrition outcomes and reducing malnutrition across vulnerable populations through multisectoral, evidence-based strategies.
According to the statement, she has led several high-impact initiatives, including the implementation of the National Nutrition Policy, targeting improved nutrition outcomes for all Nigerians, the rollout of the Multiple Micronutrient Supplement (MMS) programme, providing pregnant women with 15 essential vitamins and minerals to combat anemia and support healthier pregnancies, the expansion of large-scale food fortification programmes, and advocacy for nutrition-sensitive, gender-responsive social protection policies to address the root causes of malnutrition.