The Federal Government, State Governments, and faith and traditional leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s health system through transparency, accountability, inclusivity, and sustained investment in primary healthcare delivery. This was highlighted at the 2nd Joint Annual Review (JAR) of the health sector on Wednesday in Abuja, with the theme, “All Hands, One Mission: Bringing the Nigerian Health System to Light.” Delivering his keynote address, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said the recent N32.9 billion disbursement for primary healthcare delivery had become a game changer. He noted that the…
Author: Newsdesk
The Federal Government says it is developing a robust digital infrastructure to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Nigeria’s health system to improve service delivery, policy formulation, and disease surveillance nationwide. Dr Leke Ojewale, Senior Technical Advisor to the Coordinating Minister of Health on Digital Health, disclosed this in Abuja at a capacity-building workshop on Artificial Intelligence for Public Health. The workshop was organised by Artificial Intelligence for Social Impact and Development (AI4SID) in partnership with several organisations, aiming to strengthen participants’ understanding of AI technologies and their safe, responsible application in public health. Ojewale said the Federal Ministry of Health,…
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, says Nigeria continues to record about 850,000 preventable newborn and under-five deaths annually in spite of progress made in child survival efforts. Pate said this in Abuja on Wednesday during the commemoration of the 2025 World Pneumonia and Prematurity Days. He was represented by the Director of Health Promotion, Mr John Urakpa. Pate said that although Nigeria had achieved a 45 per cent reduction in under-five mortality over the last two decades, the rate remained unacceptably high and required urgent, sustained intervention. “Data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health…
The Voice of Disability Initiative (VDI), an NGO, on Tuesday empowered children from three special needs schools in the FCT as part of efforts to promote inclusive education. The beneficiary schools were the FCT School for the Blind, the FCT School for Children with Special Needs, Kuje, and the Abuja School for the Deaf, Kuje. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the pupils received scholastic materials including notebooks, pens, poster colours, pencils, Braille papers, pad banks, school uniforms, sandals and school bags. VDI’s Executive Director, Ms Catherine Edeh, represented by the organisation’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Mr Edward Ogiji, said the distribution was part…
The Federal Government of Nigeria, in conjunction with the International Fund for Agricultural Development/Value Chain Development Programme (IFAD-VCDP), on Tuesday distributed 33 cargo tricycles to rice and cassava farmers in Kogi. The Federal Government/IFAD-VCDP project gesture was to ease the challenge of produce transportation and enhance agricultural productivity in the state. The State Project Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Dr Stella Adejoh, said the beneficiaries cut across five local government areas of Ajaokuta, Ibaji, Kabba-Bunu, Lokoja, and Olamaboro. Adejoh explained that the tricycles were procured under a joint funding arrangement where farmers contributed 30 per cent of the cost while IFAD-VCDP provided…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on Tuesday, unveiled the process and plans to enhance regulatory frameworks to promote an efficient, accessible and competitive communications industry. The Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said this at the Public Enquiry on three Subsidiary Legislations in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the regulatory guidelines are Licensing, Enforcement Processes and Internet Code of Practice. Maida, represented by NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said that this was in line with global best practices while ensuring the creation of comprehensive communications structure serving the interests of various stakeholders.…
The 10th National Assembly (NASS) is set to advance legislation on digital innovation, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for diagnosis and surveillance to enhance Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria. Godswill Akpabio, Senate President and Chairman, NASS, made this commitment at the sixth annual Legislative Summit on Health in Abuja on Tuesday. The summit has as theme” Building Responsive, Sustainable Health Systems: Leveraging Action for Digital Innovation and Human Capital for Universal Health Coverage”. Akpabio, represented by Barau Jibrin, Deputy Senate President, outlined plans to enhance telemedicine, implement electronic health records, and leverage Artificial Intelligence for diagnostics and surveillance…
A joint delegation of the European Union (EU) and Germany on Tuesday visited Plateau to engage stakeholders, assess field results, and reinforce partnerships for long-term agricultural transformation The visit was led by Massimo De Luca, Head of Cooperation for the EU delegates to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and Dr Andrea Ruediger, Cluster Coordinator for Rural Development & Agriculture, German Development Cooperation. The visit also had key Federal Ministries and technical experts from agricultural development projects among the delegation. The visit focused on strengthening collaboration in sustainable agriculture, innovation, and climate-smart practices that would enhance productivity and food security. The delegation noted…
Once plagued by frequent droughts and low yields, farmers in Ngoma, Kirehe, Kayonza, and other districts in Eastern Province are embracing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to boost productivity, conserve soil, and build resilience to climate shocks. Espérance Uwizeyimana, 54, a mother of five and member of Terimbere Muhinzi Cooperative in Gahara Sector, said the new approach has transformed her harvests while cutting costs. “I used to scatter seeds randomly and waste fertiliser,” she said. “Now I prepare seedbeds properly and use less input for better yield.” Uwizeyimana adopted Pfumvudza, a conservation farming method developed in Zimbabwe under the Joint Programme on…
About six years ago, coffee produced by Impexcor, a leading Rwandan coffee processor for domestic consumption stood at just one tonne. Today, that figure has grown twentyfold, a sign of the rising appetite for locally produced coffee, according to Oreste Baragahorana, the company’s Chief Operations Manager. He was speaking at a press conference on the performance and future prospects of Rwanda’s coffee sector, held in Kigali last week. The company’s coffee brand, Rugali Coffee, has experienced unprecedented growth in the local market. “Six years ago, our company sold only one tonne of coffee locally. Today, that figure has reached 20…