The Federal Government has said that it is pursuing a comprehensive transformation of the health sector to strengthen health security, unlock the healthcare value chain and improve population health outcomes

 

It noted that the investments made through Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19 RM) grant have contributed significantly to strengthening surveillance and laboratory systems, enhanced health security architecture adding that the expansion of oxygen systems has significantly helped in protecting essential health services and improving health outcomes in the country.

 

Minister of Health, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate who disclosed this at the National

Close-Out Meeting on COVID-19 Response Mechanism Investments in Nigeria

organised by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) Global Fund and Partners on Thursday in Abuja noted that the C19 RM Grant was established as a special emergency response mechanism to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic adding that by strengthening supply chains and logistics systems, the C19 RM grant has contributed to a more resilient healthcare value chain.

 

Pate observed that countries that invest in resilient health systems are better positioned to protect lives, safeguard livelihoods, and sustain economic growth.

He said, “For Nigeria, the C19 RM grant became much more than an emergency response. It provided a strategic opportunity to strengthen critical health system functions while protecting essential HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria services during a period of unprecedented disruption”.

The minister emphasized that with the end of the grant, there is need for Nigeria to shift focus from implementation to sustainability and insisted that the systems established through C19 RM must be integrated into routine government structures, supported through sustainable financing mechanisms, and managed through accountable institutions.

Pate stated that the Federal Government is strengthening domestic health financing through initiatives such as the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and broader health financing reforms under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) framework.

He said, “The sustainability challenge before all of us is not merely technical; it is institutional. It requires ownership by government at all levels, commitment from implementing agencies, continued engagement with communities, and alignment of partner investments behind national priorities.The HOPE program, our health financing reforms, and ongoing investments in primary healthcare are creating opportunities to institutionalize many of the gains achieved through C19 RM, ensuring they continue delivering value to Nigerians long after the grant has ended.”

 

Representing by a Director in the Department of Hospital Services in the ministry, Vivian Okafor, the minister pointed out that the most important lesson from C19 RM is that emergency investments must leave behind sustainable systems adding that the true legacy of this programme is not just the equipment procured or the activities implemented.

 

” Its legacy lies in stronger institutions, better governance systems, enhanced workforce capacity, improved preparedness and stronger partnerships for the future,” he added.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Temitope Ilori,

noted that the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to health systems worldwide, but noted that the C19RM grant provided Nigeria with timely support that strengthened the country’s response while safeguarding essential health services.

 

She stated that the Covid19 interventions brought significant improvements in emergency preparedness, disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, oxygen infrastructure, infection prevention and control systems, supply chains and community engagement in the country.

 

Ilori noted that the investments had extended beyond the immediate COVID-19 response, contributing to broader efforts to strengthen the resilience of Nigeria’s health system.

 

She said, “Beyond the infrastructure and systems established, one of the most important achievements of C19RM has been the partnerships that brought together government institutions, development partners, implementing agencies, healthcare workers and communities around a common purpose,” she said.

 

She highlighted the need to ensure sustainability of the gains recorded under the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) grant , reflect on lessons learned and chart a pathway for preserving its gains.

“With these investments and lessons learned, we have an opportunity to strengthen the foundation of Nigeria’s health system and ensure that the gains achieved through C19RM continue to benefit Nigerians long after the grant has ended”.

 

Ilori observed that the success of the programme would ultimately be measured by how effectively its investments are integrated into routine health systems, maintained over time and leveraged to improve health outcomes for Nigerians.

 

The NACA boss called on stakeholders to use the closeout as a platform to identify opportunities and collectively shape the future of resilient and responsive health systems in the country.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), Ibrahim Tajudeen, said that the Global Fund made deliberate investments in Nigeria around oxygen therapy , consumables , infrastructure and warehousing upgrades where about 23 pharmaceutical warehouses were upgraded , built and delivered to the country.

Ibrahim states that Nigeria benefited maximally stressing that the only concerns the organisation has is how Nigeria is going to sustain these investment moving forward.

 

On her part, the Managing Director of Health Watch Foundation ,Vivianne Ihekwazu, said the priority going forward should be ensuring that investments made through the programme are maintained and leveraged to strengthen healthcare delivery.

 

She said,”The critical thing we need to make sure is that these investments do not go to waste but are sustained in the long term to ensure that our health system is strengthened and the care Nigerians receive continues to improve into the future,”

 

Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), Dr Adebobola Bashorun said that the C19RM intervention is a landmark investment that benefited the entire health systems and health infrastructure.

 

He said,”Global Fund supported the C19 RM and RSSH grant, and Nigeria was wise to invest in the right direction, investing in something that leaves a footprint. What we need to do now as government is to sustain it because Global Fund will not be here forever,” .

 

 

The Global Fund Country Fund Manager for Nigeria, Ketevan Vakhanishvili, said the closeout meeting provided an opportunity to assess achievements, identify lessons learned and determine what should be sustained and scaled.

 

She noted that insights from the programme would help shape future investments in pandemic preparedness and resilient health systems in Nigeria.

 

A representative of Jhpiego, Dr. Yemisi Ogundare, stressed the need to build on the gains of the intervention and ensure that systems established through the grant remain functional and effective long after the funding cycle has ended.