The United States government has expressed its commitment to health security in Nigeria and the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region.
[ad
The American nation noted that its vision is to establish Nigeria as a leader of global public health and build its name as leading source of credible scientific information.

Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Rolf Olson, who stated this at the commissioning of the N8 billion twin tower multi-campus of the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), yesterday in Abuja, observed that through its agencies such as the U.S. Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the government is working toward the vision of a world, where people live healthier, safer and longer.

He noted that the CDC’s mission is to protect and improve health globally through science, policy, partnership and evidence-based public health action, adding that these actions, driven by science and data, are a core component of the U.S. government’s global health diplomacy efforts in Nigeria.

Olson said with collective investments, research and programming, U.S. wants to impact the health of Nigerians positively, strengthen health security in the region and establish Nigeria as a leader in public health science and practice.

He stressed that through partnerships with Nigeria, civil society partners and communities, the United States is working towards that first goal – to save lives, improve health outcomes and foster healthy populations.

According to him, the life-saving Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) programmes implemented by IHVN play a huge role in this and their work as partner for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Nigeria has spanned years.

He added that they have transitioned from being an international implementing partner to a local partner directly receiving U.S. government funds.

In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer of IHVN, Prof. Patrick Dakum, said with the inauguration of the facility, the institute is convinced that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 3, which focuses on having healthy communities, can only be
achieved with effective global and local partnerships, adding that the campus seeks to promote this as its contribution to these efforts in Nigeria and beyond.