Reforms in the country’s health sector are being boosted by advocacy tours to the six geo-political zones by Health Minister, Professor Eyitayo Lambo. The minister visited the South East zone from 12 to 18 June 2005 and the North West zone from 24 to 27 July where he held far reaching consultations and sensitisation talks with relevant stakeholders.

The Honourable minister embarked on these Advocacy tours mainly to draw the attention of administrators, health workers, government officials and the community at large to ongoing reforms in the health sector, which are being developed within the context of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS).

The Health sector Reforms, which have already been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has seven main thrusts:

. Improving the stewardship role of Government

. Strengthening the national health system at the three levels of care i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary

. Reducing the burden of major diseases like HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis etc through the attainment of the health related Millennium Development Goals

. Improving health resources (human, finance etc) and their management

. Improving access to quality health services

. Promoting private/public partnership, and

. Increasing consumers; awareness of their health rights and obligations

The whole idea behind the tours is to interact with stakeholders on what the federal Government has done as its own part of the responsibility, what is expected from the States and Local Government Councils at the secondary and primary levels of healthcare delivery.

The Federal Government, according to Professor Lambo had refurbished and equipped eight teaching hospitals so far, while six more are in line for restoration, in line with the National Health Policy, which assigns responsibility for tertiary health care funding to it.

Also the federal government is constructing one Model Primary Health Centre at each local government council in the country, which in turn would be turned over to the community after completion, as well as launching of the National Health Insurance Scheme for the formal sector.

The advocacy tour took the Honourable Minister to Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, Anambra and Imo states in the South East; and Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states in the North West, where either the state governors or their deputies met him. In each state an Advocacy Interactive Workshop was held with state legislators, Local Council Chairmen and their Health Supervisors, Primary Healthcare Coordinators, staff of states Ministries of Health, representatives of professional bodies, the private sector, health services providers, community-based organisations, NGOs and faith-based organisations.

In the South East, Professor Lambo visited the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, the Neuro-psychiatric Hospital and the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Enugu, as well as the Federal Medical Centres in Abakaliki, Owerri, Umuahia. He also visited the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in Nnewi.

During interactive workshops with stakeholders, the Honourable Minister came face to face with the achievements, problems and expectations of public healthcare delivery in the zone; whereas progress has been made since the advent of this Administration in the provision of adequate power (through standby generator sets) and water supply and industrial peace prevails due to the settlement of a backlog of unpaid remunerations, more still needed to be done in improving infrastructures and boosting morale.

In the North West, The Honourable Minister toured the Federal Medical Centres in Gusau and Birnin Kebbi, the Comprehensive Health Centre in Kware as well as the Uthman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital Sokoto. He also visited the Noma Hospital in Sokoto, a specialised hospital for the treatment and surgical repair of Cancum Oris (a tropical disease of the eye), which serves the entire country.

At a stakeholders’ interactive workshop on 27 July, Professor Lambo reiterated the goal of the health sector reforms which is to “break the vicious cycle of ill-health, poverty and under-development through the allocation of more funds to the health sector, revamping of the secondary healthcare facilities to ensure good quality referral services for the primary health facilities, and to get local governments to commit at least 40 percent of their total budget to the health sector, out of which only 60 percent should be utilised for staff emoluments, leaving 40 percent for running and maintaining the health facilities”.

With a captivating theme: Creating Markets…Unleashing entrepreneurship, this year’s Youth Employment Summit (YES) 2006 will convene in the Capital city of Kenya, Nairobi for the 2nd time in Africa and the 3rd edition in the series of the Summit initiated by the Education for Development Center (EDC, an international nonprofit research and
development organization in Newton, Mass. USA) to address the pressing issues of youth unemployment.

This year’s summit which would hold from the 13 – 16 September, 2006 will feature effective best practices and innovative strategies from Development organizations,
International banks, YES Country Networks in over 60 countries, employment experts and practitioners, amongst others.

The Summit which would address unemployment at the highest level, especially among the young adult would work to proffering ways and solutions to youth unemployment through building youth capacity for employment, entrepreneurial culture, building trade capacities, attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Eco-entrepreneurship.

The Youth Employment Summit (YES) Executive Director, Poonam Ahluwalia, while commenting on the essentiality of building an entrepreneurial culture said: “Building an
entrepreneurial culture is essential in order to create job in the public and private sector to absorb the youth in the labour market.”

She said that the YES Kenya Summit will provide a unique venue for young leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world to work collaboratively with policymakers and
researchers to create innovative, long term solutions to the critical problem of youth unemployment.

Further Reading: http://www.africafront.com/news/136/youth_employment_summit_2006_to_convene_in_kenya.html

President Olusegun Obasanjo has said in Abuja that the growth in the Nigerian economy must translate into concrete and measurable indices.

Presiding over a Stakeholders Forum on the Economy at the State House Banquet Hall on July 4, the President explained that the forum was convened to see how the seven per cent economic growth rate translates into better living conditions for Nigerians.

“We want to see what impact our reforms have had on our people individually and collectively,” he said.

President Obasanjo noted that if well utilized, the N50 billion agriculture development funds would take agriculture to new heights within the next two years.

While admitting that a significant number of farmers still did not know how to access the fund, he appealed to state governors to assist small-scale farmers by borrowing from the fund for on-lending to them.

The President, who reiterated that the agreed interest rate on borrowing from the fund still remained eight per cent, urged the commercial banks not to go beyond the agreed rate.

President Obasanjo welcomed the recent appreciation of the Naira against foreign currencies, noting, “this is the first time the naira is genuinely and steadily appreciating”.

He said that the policy of his Administration “is to fight inflation and not to make the naira excessively weak or excessively strong”.

The President, who used the occasion to announce that the proposed Central Bank for African Union would be located in Nigeria, said, “we want Nigeria to be the financial hub for West Africa and Africa”.

President Obasanjo announced November 3 as the date for the next Stakeholders Forum on the Economy.


The Ministers of Finance, Commerce, Agriculture, Power and Steel, the Economic Adviser, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC made presentations on the key achievements and challenges of their ministries and organizations.

Governors, deputy governors, ministers, top government and private sector officials, labour leaders and representatives of various manufacturing groups attended the Forum.

These ideas stretch the imagination and stretch the human spirit to what is really possible to help each other, to eliminate poverty, and leave ourselves with something better to worry about.

As much as I personally love Nigeria, and as much as I've committed of my own life to making life better for all Nigerians, I respectfully request that Nigerians not forget that our society is far from alone in the world in enduring poverty and hard times -- and Nigeria's future now holds considerably more hope and promise than does that of many of our brothers and sisters in very, very desperate locations of our world.

In the push to Nigerian development, I am certain that we will succeed, and that our dear country will fulfil her destiny as a strong, prosperous, and wealthy and united nation. To my view, that is inevitable! That is, however, not a given for many other people in this world. I am hopeful that, as Nigeria's fortunes increase and Nigerians become more prosperous, Nigeria as a nation of compassionate citizens will remember those less fortunate and, as soon as possible, reach out to help them as much as many of us are now absolutely committed to helping the millions of Nigerians who still languish and suffer from poverty and hunger.

Jeffery Sachs did a great work and has considerably told the world the truth about poverty and prosperity in a strange world. Let us listen to his voice!