A Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Health, Dr Salma Anas-Kolo has commended Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for their substantial contributions to the reforms achieved in Nigeria’s health sector.
Anas-Kolo gave the commendation in Abuja at the fifth anniversary of the Centre for Well-being and Integrated Nutrition Solutions (CWINS), an NGO.
She said CSOs had remained central to generating ideas that drive the health sector agenda, and their efforts had “made the impossible possible”.
“Today, we are enjoying the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), which represents one per cent of the consolidated revenue for health. We have not even fully achieved the one per cent, yet the impact is visible,” she said.
While uring the CSOs to intensify advocacy at the sub-national level, Kolo stressed that states must allocate a fair proportion of their budgets to health.
“That should be the next loud voice. State governments must allocate at least 2% of their budgets to health. That is the advocacy we want to hear,” she said.
Anas-Kolo said strong CSO advocacy had also contributed to the development of Nigeria’s procurement plan and work plan for funding family planning commodities.
She encouraged civil society groups to continue championing health sector transformation to ensure Nigeria meets its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) targets before 2030.
“CSOs must ensure adequate resource allocation and policies that place citizens, especially women and girls, at the core of governance,” she said.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, represented by Dr Ladidi Bako, Director of Nutrition, said the CWINS anniversary provided an opportunity for reflection and renewed commitment.
Pate noted that Nigeria faces a triple burden of malnutrition: undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiency.
“Our partnership with CWINS and others has enabled inclusive programme design, stronger data generation and expanded nutrition interventions for school-age children, adolescents, women and the elderly,” he said.
He urged CSOs to leave the event with renewed determination to ensure every child has access to proper nutrition.
Bako, who delivered the keynote address, said the government was deepening financing for nutrition at multiple levels, stating that primary healthcare must remain central to equity.
She said Nigeria recognises nutrition as a multisectoral responsibility and must prioritise the most vulnerable groups, especially children in Local Government Areas with high cases of wasting and stunting.
NAN