Nigeria to host WHO leaders

By Usman Shuaibu with agency report

Nigeria will this week host leaders of the World Health Organisation, an international health agency which has been working on various health interventions in the country.
According to a press statement released by WHO on Sunday, Nigeria will be hosting members of the Global Policy Group (GPG) which is made up of the Director-General, Deputy Director-General, six Regional Directors and the Executive Director of the WHO Emergencies Programme.
The members are expected to have a meeting from Tuesday to Thursday.
The discussions will focus on WHO’s technical support to strengthen the country’s health system to achieve the health related Sustainable Development Goals within the context of revitalisation of PHCs for universal health coverage and humanitarian response in the Northeast.
The GPG is an internal advisory mechanism to the Director-General (DG), established to ensure the coherent implementation of decisions, policies and strategies of WHO across all levels of the organization.
According to the statement, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, said the country is honored to host the Director General and Regional Directors of WHO at this auspicious time”.
Mr Adewole said the presence of WHO’s top decision makers provides opportunity for Nigeria to strengthen collaboration with the WHO.
The WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, and regional directors are also expected to pay a courtesy call on President Muhammadu Buhari to commend him on efforts to improve the health and well-being of Nigerians,and the commendable aspiration of reaching over 100 million Nigerians with basic minimum package of primary healthcare services.
Mr Tedros is expected to carry out a full programme of activities including field visits to relevant health agencies such as Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Revitalized Model Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Kuchingoro, Abuja and to also hold discussions with, high-ranking government officials and key stakeholders.
Whilst in Nigeria, the WHO DG will also launch the implementation of the Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemic (EYE) Strategy in Africa on April 10.