By Blessing Bature
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate has stated that Nigeria is actively working to strenghten its health system by leveraging domestic resources.
He affirmed that Nigeria had anticipated a decline in global financial aid even before the US government publicly announced cuts to funding for agencies that support developing countries.
He expressed heartfelt gratitude to the United States Government for its extensive and generous support over the years; emphasizing, Nigerian Government holds deep appreciation for the assistance received, which has played crucial role in advancing the nation’s healthcare landscape.
In a statement by Tashikalmah Hallah, Special Adviser on Media and External Relations to the Coordinating Minister; the Nigerian government reiterated its commitment to prioritizing health. This focus has led to significant advancements and successes in the healthcare sector, reflecting the government’s determination to improve the well-being of its citizens.
“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”.
“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”.
The direction taken by the U.S. government is understandable, given its current interests, and we respect that. 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.
