Assistant Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has urged Nigeria and other African countries to prioritise investments in domestic institutions in order to withstand the health crisis.

Ihekweazu, who made the call while delivering a keynote address at the second APIN Public Health Initiatives’ Annual Health Symposium themed; “Securing our Future: Strengthening Global Health Security in Nigeria,” noted that investment and strengthening of domestic institutions and health systems respectively, would engender better understanding of health crisis and also drive progress.

According to him, Nigeria and middle income countries must focus on building and strengthening its weak institutions which he insists perpetrates a cycle of dependence.

He said: “The question for us collectively is, how do we build institutions that will respond not only to today’s crisis, not only to today’s crisis, but at the same time, lay the foundation for long term self-reliance and health security

“All global health security depends on local health and local health security depends on local institutions that can organise themselves to prevent, detect, respond and recover.”