President Bola Tinubu has said the government has secured $2.2 billion in health commitment through the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Initiative he launched in December 2023.
Tinubu made this disclosure yesterday at the inauguration of the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja. The President described the project as a monument to African resilience and innovation, and a bold step toward Nigeria’s emergence as a global healthcare hub.
The initiative, already underway, aimed to renovate over 17,000 primary health centres, train 120,000 frontline health workers, and double national health insurance coverage within three years.
Speaking during the inauguration, Tinubu, who was represented by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, said it was not just about unveiling a structure of steel and bricks, but also unveiling Nigeria’s “collective refusal to accept medical vulnerability as destiny.”
The President narrated reforms and investments made since he took office two years ago, including the signing of an Executive Order to unlock the healthcare value chain and the launch of the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC).
These policies, he said, have intensified local pharmaceutical production, improved regulatory systems, and expanded access to diagnostics. He said: “But our efforts did not end there.
In December 2023, we launched the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative. “That initiative secured over $2.2 billion in health sector commitments, with clear, measurable targets: to renovate over 17,000 pri-mary health centres, train 120,000 frontline health workers, and double health insurance coverage within three years.
These are not aspirations. These are milestones already in motion.” He noted that AMCE, a stateof-the-art facility developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital, London, would serve as a leading centre for advanced treatment, medical training, and research.
The facility, according to him, hosts the largest stem cell laboratory in West Africa and would expand to include a teaching hospital, nursing school, and residential quarters for medical personnel.
