The African Union has designated President Bola Tinubu as the Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.
This was said in a statement headed “President Tinubu appointed as AU Champion for health” that was signed on Friday by the president’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.
According to the presidency, this was done in “recognition of President Tinubu’s commitment 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 the federation from 8,800 to over 17,000 over the next three years.”
In a letter to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the African Union Commission (Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC) announced that the President had been appointed based on the advice of the Committee of Heads of State and Government of Africa CDC, which is led by Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union.
According to Africa CDC, Tinubu’s decision to create a paid volunteer youth force of social accountability officers to oversee the day-to-day operations and financial soundness of primary health centers, as well as his determination to double the number of health personnel enrolled from accredited nursing and midwifery institutions to meet the increased demand brought about by new facilities across Nigeria, were recognized.
“The African Union has identified the Nigerian leader as the right champion for this noble and actionable continental effort,” the statement reads.
The Commission has invited Tinubu to speak at the Ministerial Executive Leadership Program on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Africa CDC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the fringes of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government. The program’s theme is “Impactful leadership in health: a whole government approach.”