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AHF wants EU, AU to support new global health convention

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5 years ago

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The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), an NGO, has urged leaders of the European Union and African Union to support the adoption of the new Global Public Health Convention/Treaty.

The President of the foundation, Mr Michael Weinstein, made the call in a statement signed by the Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, Mr Steve Aborisade in Abuja.

He said the worlds’ inability to respond collectively to the COVID-19 pandemic was a stark indication that we needed to urgently reform the international framework of public health governance.

Weinstein, maintained that until the principles of equity, cooperation, transparency and accountability were enshrined in an international accord, the risk of another pandemic loomed.

He, therefore, called on the EU and AU leaders to act and rise to the support of the new public health convention, saying that the eyes of the world were upon them.

He also advised that nations must commit to real action and genuine partnership on addressing COVID-19 vaccine inequalities, particularly at the EU-AU upcoming summit.

Weinstein said the AIDS Healthcare Foundation was running a campaign, calling attention to the urgent need to “Vaccinate Our World against COVID-19″.

“Globally, AHF works in 45 countries and provides care and services to over 1.6 million patients around the world.

“Ahead of the European Union-African Union summit, we urge you to prioritise actions aimed at righting the inequities that have plagued the COVID-19.

“This will be in the area of response by rapidly increasing the sharing of COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and related technologies.

“The pandemic has made it abundantly clear – a global public health crisis cannot be solved piecemeal; it requires genuine partnership and cooperation.

“To date, the relationship between the EU and AU in responding to COVID-19 can only be described as perfunctory charity. This is not real cooperation.”

According to the him, we will only find a way out of the pandemic if the two continents work together as equals, and we urge you to instill this principle as the motto of the upcoming summit.

“There is no viable alternative to this approach if wealthy countries continue to hoard vaccines or send nearly expired doses to Africa, the waves of the virus will continue to increase.’’

He urged the EU and AU leaders to specifically commit to the actions.
AHF President, urged them to support the TRIPS waiver on vaccine patents and technologies at the World Trade Organisation and make vaccines readily available to everyone who needed them.

He also urged the EU and AU leaders to ensure the vaccines have sufficiently long shelf life to avoid unnecessary wastage, as well as expand local generic vaccine manufacturing, technological capacity, and scientific know-how.

He further urged them to end the pandemic profiteering by pharma companies, fund the vaccine distribution infrastructure and human resources.

He also urged the two continents’ leaders to maintain a transparent dialogue between EU and AU leaders, and engage civil society in the cooperation process.

“The Vaccinate Our World campaign (VOW) was initiated to address the immoral disparity in COVID-19 vaccine access between wealthy nations and those of lower economic status.

“As of today, 10 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, with 80 per cent of those going to people in high- and upper-middle-income countries.

“Less than 16 per cent of the 1.3 billion people on the African continent have received at least one dose.’’

(NAN)

 

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FG Inaugurates Joint Task Team To Protect Health Investments

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6 days ago

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August 19, 2026

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–ICPC member

In its bid to enforce preventive controls and protect investments in Nigeria’s health sector, the Federal Government has inaugurated a Joint Task Team comprising staff of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

According to Ado Bako
Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, of the Health ministry in a press release on Monday, 17th August, 2026, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate said the initiative is a deliberate shift from the old practice of responding to wrongdoing after it had occurred to one of identifying vulnerabilities early, closing loopholes and strengthening systems before public resources are lost. The statement said:

“Every naira invested in our health system carries an obligation: to reach the facility, the health worker, and the Nigerian whose life depends on it. When those resources are diverted, the cost is not abstract. It is a medicine that never arrives, equipment that is unavailable when needed, or a service that falls short. In this sector, corruption can cost lives.”

Prof. Pate sees the Joint Task Team as “an instrument for institutional change”, whose mandate is centred on identifying institutional vulnerabilities, strengthening preventive controls and improving oversight across the health sector.

Under BHCPF 2.0, the Federal Government has deployed 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers, one to every Local Government Area, to independently verify the receipt and utilisation of funds. Verified National Identification Numbers are also being used to strengthen beneficiary authentication and reduce duplication, while digitalisation is improving transparency and traceability.

The Task Team builds on the Federal Government’s Red Letter of October 2025, which called on communities and ward health committees to track whether BHCPF funds reach their facilities. The Joint Task Team now adds structured institutional oversight to that citizen vigilance.

The Joint Task Team will conduct assessments following each quarterly disbursement of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, with the BHCPF Secretariat serving as its Secretariat. The Team is co-chaired by the Director of Hospital Services, representing the Ministry, and a Director of the ICPC, with membership drawn from relevant supervising offices and departments. The Memorandum of Understanding runs for two years, subject to renewal.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom S. mni, said protecting health-sector resources is fundamental to the Ministry’s mandate to save lives, reduce the physical and financial pain of ill-health, and produce health for all Nigerians. In her words:

“This is a Team designed to be embedded in how the Ministry already works, not to sit outside it.”

The Chairman of the ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, represented by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Clifford Oparaodu, said the partnership strengthens preventive oversight of health-sector resources, particularly the BHCPF.

“Corruption in the health sector is not measured only in financial losses or accounting irregularities. The losses are measured in maternal and infant mortality rates, rates of immunisation, mortality from preventable diseases, easy and affordable access to medical care at all levels.”

The Coordinating Minister, alongside the Chairman of the ICPC, formally inaugurated the Joint Task Team.

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FG Reiterate Commitment to Health Sector Vows Zero Tolerance for Corruption 

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1 week ago

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August 17, 2026

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The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said this on Monday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Joint Task Team of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Pate said, “Let me be unequivocal: this Ministry will not tolerate corruption,” adding that effective systems should identify vulnerabilities early and close loopholes before resources were lost through misconduct or diversion.

He said that principle informed the establishment of the Joint Task Team between the ministry and ICPC, with prevention at the heart of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and its mandate.

“The team is expected to identify institutional vulnerabilities, strengthen preventive controls, improve oversight across the health sector while supporting transparent management and accountability nationwide and closing gaps before they worsen further.”

Pate said the ministry was already applying the approach where significant public resources were being deployed, including BHCPF 2.0, where 774 officers, one per LGA, independently verify funds received and utilised.

He added that verified National Identification Numbers were being used to authenticate beneficiaries, reduce duplication, while tighter standards governed fund utilisation and violations attracted clear consequences across supported programmes nationwide already.

“The ministry is also digitalising processes so resources can be tracked transparently from allocation to use, while the ICPC provides independent preventive oversight to identify weaknesses before they become failures institutionally.

“This responsibility does not rest with government alone.

“The effort also requires public servants, honest contractors, development partners and citizens willing to speak when something goes wrong promptly and openly.”

He also charged members of the team to approach the assignment with professionalism, independence, courage and diligence, while ensuring recommendations outlast the team and strengthen systems beyond its lifespan through sustained implementation.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ms Daju Kachollom, described the partnership with ICPC as timely and important, saying the team would be embedded in existing ministry structures and continuity.

She said the team would be co-chaired by the Director of Hospital Services, representing the ministry, and an ICPC director, with members drawn from relevant supervising offices and departments as required.

Kachollom said the team would report through the ministry’s established workflow structures and conduct assessments after each quarterly BHCPF disbursement, with the BHCPF Secretariat serving as its secretariat throughout the two-year MoU.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, said the team gave practical expression to the MoU signed between the commission and ministry in October 2025.

Represented by the Executive Secretary, Mr Clifford Oparaodu, Aliyu said the agreement reflected a shared commitment to transparency, accountability and integrity, particularly in managing BHCPF resources across Nigeria’s health sector effectively.

He said the MoU must produce concrete outcomes, ensuring funds allocated for primary healthcare reached intended facilities and people, while ICPC identified process weaknesses and eliminated opportunities for corrupt practices nationwide.

Aliyu described prevention as cheaper, less intrusive and more sustainable than reacting after corruption occurred, urging the team to undertake credible, evidence-based nationwide assessments of BHCPF flows and utilisation.

“Corruption in the health sector is not measured only in financial losses or accounting irregularities.”

The consequences, he emphasised directly affect lives and healthcare access.

“The losses are measured in maternal and infant mortality rates, rates of immunisation, mortality from preventable diseases, easy and affordable access to medical care at all levels,” he said.

Aliyu said integrity in healthcare meant medicines being available, functional equipment, working generators, present and paid health workers, and facilities capable of responding when citizens needed them most without delays or failures.

“Verify what you are told. Examine what has been delivered. Identify vulnerabilities, recommend practical remedies and follow through to ensure that corrective measures are implemented,” he said urging nationwide consistency.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the MoU between organisations was signed in October 2025 to strengthen collaboration and preventive oversight in managing health-sector resources, particularly BHCPF funds nationwide

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WHO Expresses Concern Over Trump’s Executive Order on Vaccines

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2 weeks ago

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August 13, 2026

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s executive order on vaccines.

In a statement on Wednesday by the Secretary-General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus underscored the critical role of vaccination for public health.

WHO, also on Wednesday, upheld the safety of childhood vaccines in response to a new directive from the White House to overhaul the recommended inoculation schedule.

He also acknowledged that “every parent wants to keep their children safe, and vaccines are among the most powerful tools for doing that, making deadly diseases preventable.”

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that calls for reducing the number of routine childhood immunisation  from diseases 18 to 11.

The administration’s Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations also advocate for separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three single-disease shots that would be administered during separate medical appointments.

The policy also aims to improve vaccine research and to maximise parental choice over which shots their children receive.

This is to ensure state compliance with constitutional and federal statutory obligations regarding parental authority, religious freedom, accommodations for those with disabilities and equal protection under the law.

Tedros said WHO was concerned that the changes “are not aligned with decades of evidence” on when best to immunise children, how many doses are needed, and which vaccines can be administered together safely.

This evidence is also reviewed continuously as new data emerge from across the world.

“The current evidence is unequivocal: vaccines – including the MMR vaccine – are safe and do not cause autism,” he said.

Moreover, “delaying vaccines or separating doses unnecessarily does not make vaccination safer and can leave children unprotected.” he added.

Tedros said “global evidence and recommendations, including from WHO” inform national experts to determine which vaccines and schedules are best for their country.

He stressed that “vaccination policy should be guided by rigorous, independent and transparent review of the best available science, not by political influence.”

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