Nigeria roles out investment case strategy to access 40m USD global financing facility

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Federal Ministry of Health, yesterday in Abuja, rolled out an innovative strategy to access the 40m Dollar Global Financing Facility (GFF) to enable the country end maternal, Newborn, child and Adolescent deaths, by the year 2030.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by Boade Akinola, a Director, Media and Public Relations at the ministry of health.
It said the GFF is an innovative financing strategy, critical to achieving key results for every woman and every child through smart, scaled and sustainable domestic financing of priority investments in reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent (RMNCAH) healthcare.
Declaring the event open, the Director, Department of Family Health and Co-Chair, GFF country platform, Dr. Adebimpe Adebiyi, said it was paramount for Nigeria to leverage innovative and strategic measures in addressing the peculiar challenges towards “ensuring the wellbeing of all” particularly the poor and the vulnerable populace.
In view of this, Dr. Adebiyi explained that the GFF country platform was set up to drive the process with its first assignment being to develop a credible RMNCAH + Nutrition Investment case which is a pre-requisite for accessing the grant/ facility. The fund would support the scaling – up of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Niger, Abia and Ondo States, to be used as pilot states.
She further informed that the GFF process was expected to yield cumulative effects and eventual economic growth and prevent 24-38 million deaths of women, adolescents and children.
Nigeria is one of the 2nd wave countries out of 26 to benefit from the GFF, a grant of 40m USD. 50% of this has been ear marked for the Health sector response in the North East.
Also speaking at the event, the Lead Health Specialist and GFF focal Person for Nigeria GFF secretariat/World Bank, Mr. Luc Laviolette, said GFF is a country driven process which entails prioritizing interventions, thus it was essential to have an investment case before grants could be released.
He therefore urged well-meaning Nigerians to assist the States and local government authorities in making the project a success.