Tinubu approves establishment of Africa-CDC coordinating centre in Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC) of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa-CDC) in Nigeria.

According to a presidency statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), it comes as part of his larger effort to convey Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global health security, while promoting local economic opportunities in the health care delivery value chain and enhancing Nigeria’s and West Africa’s collective capacity to respond promptly to outbreaks which is vital to the overall well-being and stability of the African continent.

Recall that President Tinubu was recently appointed as the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.

The statement said that the centre will also bring with it enormous socio-economic benefits in the form of enhancing aggregate national productivity and reversing human capacity drain, even as the ability of indigenous medical professionals and scientists will be bolstered to respond adequately to old, recent, and emerging diseases, not only in Nigeria, but across the continent.

President Tinubu has also approved the conversion of the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu, to a full-fledged University of Allied Health Sciences.

The presidency explained that it part of his dedicated efforts to build robust human resources for the health and social welfare sector.

The Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy in Enugu will now be known as the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu, and will be domiciled under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

“This presidential directive comes at a time when President Tinubu, who doubles as the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health, is set to train 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide within 16 months; to double the number of primary health facilities in local communities across all local government areas of the federation from 8,800 presently to over 17,000 over the next three years, and is doubling the number of health personnel graduating from accredited nursing and midwifery institutions over the next three years in order to meet the aspirations of Nigerians for accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare services across the nation,” the statement added.