The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, has announced that Nigeria has secured $5.5 billion in private sector investments to boost the country’s health sector.
Prof. Pate, who made the disclosure via his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday, attributed the achievement to the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He also revealed that the Federal Government has signed a partnership with the Empower School of Health, Geneva, to establish Empower Academy Nigeria — set to become Africa’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturing training institute. The academy will train up to 2,000 Nigerian professionals annually.
“Under the innovative leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria has advanced 22 new large-scale health sector manufacturing projects funded by $5.5 billion in private sector capital,” Pate stated.
He noted that alongside these investments, Nigeria recently secured €1 billion from the European Investment Bank and another $1 billion from AfreximBank to drive localisation across the health sector value chain.
Highlighting the significance of the new partnership, Pate explained that Empower Academy Nigeria will focus on developing a world-class pharmaceutical workforce. The institution will provide training in the local production of pharmaceutical excipients, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and advanced dosage forms such as inhalers, extended-release medications, and dermatological patches.
He added that the academy would advance best practices in process engineering, regulatory compliance, quality control, environmental monitoring, and other critical areas.
Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge equipment, Empower Academy Nigeria will offer certification courses in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and the International Federation of Pharmacists.
Obinna Ezugwu
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