By Joy Odor
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has reaffirmed Nigeria’s leadership in public health transformation at the Abbott Infectious Disease Summit 2025.
The summit calls for urgent regional collaboration to expand access to diagnostics, boost local manufacturing, and accelerate disease elimination across Central, West, and East Africa.
Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kachollom Daju who represented the Coordinating Minister, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate during her speech emphasized the alignment of the summit’s objectives with Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) for health system strengthening. She commended Abbott Rapid Diagnostics for organizing the summit, which brings together public health leaders, innovators, and global partners.
Daju called on global health manufacturers to collaborate with Nigeria’s Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), which supports local production of medical supplies.
The initiative offers policy incentives to drive domestic manufacturing of diagnostics and therapeutics.
In their contributions, Senator Dr. Ipalibo Banigo stressed the urgency of accelerating Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) efforts and announced updates to the NCDC Act.
Aziz Abdi noted that Nigeria accounts for nearly half of the region’s HIV burden, commending national efforts to scale up testing and strengthen health equity.
Dr. Adebobola Bashorun revealed that Nigeria has increased treatment coverage for HIV, TB, and malaria to 60%, with a notable drop in mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Dr. Abdu Mukhtar announced that Nigeria has signed an MoU to commence local production of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) as part of its health industrialization agenda.
The Development partners including WHO, SFH, CHAI, and IHVN in their remakes expressed commitment to deepened collaboration, integrated programming, and peer learning for infectious disease control.
The summit aimed to pursue actionable, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes that address Africa’s health security and access challenges.
Through innovation and collaboration, participants aim to build a healthier, self-reliant Africa.
Key Takeaways are Nigeria’s leadership in public health transformation
– Urgent need for regional collaboration to address infectious diseases
– Importance of local manufacturing and access to diagnostics.
– Commitment to sustainable and inclusive health solutions
The Abbott Infectious Disease Summit 2025 serves as a platform for stakeholders to drive progress in public health, leveraging innovation, collaboration, and collective action to build a healthier Africa.
