Osinbajo leads President Buhari’s health reform committee

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday named Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to lead a Health Sector Reform Committee expected to commence the development and implementation of a health sector reform programme for Nigeria in collaboration with state governments and the FCT administration.

A statement by Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesman said the committee is sequel to a health sector diagnostic review report developed by a consultant, Vesta Healthcare Partners and the federal ministry of health.

This is as the president approved the appointment of Ifedayo Adetifa as the new director-general of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

Adetifa replaces Chikwe Ihekweazu, the outgoing director-general of the NCDC, who was recently appointed as the assistant director-general of health emergency intelligence at the World Health Organisation (WHO), ahead of his resumption in November.

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Until his appointment, Adetifa was co-director, Clinical Epidemiologist, Epidemiology & Demography Department, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya.

He is also an associate professor, Department of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Shehu said the Osinbajo-led committee will undertake a review of all healthcare reforms adopted in the past two decades and lessons learnt and factor them into the development of the new health sector reform programme.

The committee which is set up for a period of six months, has members drawn from private and public sectors, health care management professionals, development partners, representatives from the National Assembly as well as the Nigeria Governors Forum among others

The vice president will work with Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State; Osagie Ehanire, minister of health; Alex Okoh director-general BPE; Ibrahim Abubakar, a professor in infectious disease epidemiology at University College London and director of the UCL Institute for Global Health; Babatunde Irukera, director-general, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council; Ibrahim Oloriegbe, among others.

The committee also has Betta Edu, chairman, Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum representing National Council on Health; president, Nigeria Medial Association; president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria; president, National Association of Nigeria Nurses & Midwives; president, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria.

Vesta Healthcare Partners and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are to serve as resources persons and have observer roles in the committee.