Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has appointed 2006 Tutu Fellow Dr Abdu Mukhtar to serve as the national coordinator of the Presidential Unlocking Healthcare Value-Chain Initiative. The initiative will operate within the auspices of the federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and is part of the administration's Renewed Hope agenda. The announcement was made in November 2023.
The appointment is for an ambitious undertaking, unlocking billions of dollars of new investment in the nation’s healthcare-delivery system and revitalizing the sector as a whole.
Abdu is a medical doctor with a PhD in biotechnology from Boston University and an MBA from Harvard. He has held key roles at the African Development Bank and the Dangote Group.
The spokesman said Abdu's role in unlocking the value would be by leading a collaboration across multiple ministeries to restructure the ecosystem of health product manufacturing, health logistics services, health technology services, health retail services (e-Commerce), health provider facilitation, and health payor reform (Third Party Administrators & Insurers) for a measurable increase in the domestic manufacturing of generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biologics, and devices.
The initiative Abdu now leads is an ambitious undertaking designed to funnel significant investment into the nation’s healthcare infrastructure and revitalize the healthcare sector. It aims to stimulate domestic manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices, curtail outbound medical tourism, and create high-quality jobs along the healthcare value chain. These goals resonate with a broader national agenda of reducing reliance on imported medical supplies and promoting self-sufficiency.
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