The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured $2.2 billion in external financing for a comprehensive overhaul of the health sector under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
In a statement released by President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the government announced the establishment of a Sector-wide Coordinating Office-Programme Management Unit (SCO-PMU). This unit, based in the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, aims to “ensure efficient, transparent, and accountable management of external grants mobilised towards the implementation of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.”
The statement, titled “President Tinubu Approves Establishment of Programme Management Unit for Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative,” confirmed that “$2.2bn has been mobilised in external financing to catalyse the implementation of the NHSRII through financial commitments from various development partners.”
The newly established SCO-PMU will report to a Steering Committee/Ministerial Oversight Committee chaired by the Minister of Health, and will include the Minister of State, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, and relevant development partners. The unit will serve as the secretariat and delivery unit for the NHSRII, managed by a national coordinator.
The SCO-PMU’s responsibilities include programme management, monitoring and evaluation, engagement and supervision of Independent Verification Agents for NHSRII programmes, and fiduciary management, among others.
President Tinubu has appointed Dr. Muntaqa Sadiq as the National Coordinator of the SCO-PMU. Sadiq brings over 17 years of experience in public health, impact investing, investment banking, energy, and climate financing. His previous roles include Head of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, CEO of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, Head of the Nigeria Energy Transition Office, and Private Sector Engagement Adviser at the World Bank. Sadiq is a doctoral candidate in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and holds an M.Phil in Bioscience Enterprise from the University of Cambridge, as well as a medical science/MBBS degree from Imperial College, London.
The NHSRII, unveiled on December 12, 2023, following the National Council on Health’s adoption of the sector-wide policy in November 2023, is described by the Presidency as “a bold and transformative initiative aimed at improving both population health outcomes and the country’s pool of human capital with the primary objectives of saving lives, minimising physical and financial pains, and ensuring the health of all Nigerians.”
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