FG commits to advancing health security in West Africa

By : Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze

Date: 1 January 2026 3:13am WAT

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Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako.

The Federal Government has reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to advancing health security across West Africa, stressing the need for stronger regional collaboration, preparedness, and coordinated response to public health emergencies.

Speaking at the West Africa Regional Review and Coordination Meeting (RCC) organised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in partnership with other organisations, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Adekunle Salako, said no member state can address health threats in isolation. He emphasised that the region’s strength lies in shared surveillance, shared information, shared expertise, and shared responsibility.

Salako noted that recent health crises have underscored the region’s vulnerability and the need to be better prepared for future emergencies. He called for strengthened solidarity, reduced fragmentation, and coordinated action to protect West Africa with systems that are strong, united, and sustainable.

He urged West African nations to maintain unity, strengthen coordination frameworks, and deepen technical collaboration. Salako expressed Nigeria’s strong support for the Africa CDC’s Five-Pillar Health Security Agenda, the African Epidemic Fund (AfEF), the ongoing development of the Regional Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) Coordination Platform, and the broader goal of enabling Africa to lead its own health priorities and influence global health governance reforms.

The minister said the meeting aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s health sector transformation agenda, noting that Nigeria’s reform priorities mirror the objectives being promoted by Africa CDC and ECOWAS. These include enhancing emergency preparedness and response, modernising public health intelligence and surveillance systems, expanding laboratory and diagnostic capacity, promoting local manufacturing, and strengthening health security sovereignty.

In his remarks, the Regional Director of Africa CDC’s West Africa Regional Coordinating Centre, Dr Alinon Kokou, said the region continues to face outbreaks, disasters, and other threats that place enormous strain on health systems.

“But we have proven, time and time again, that collaboration is our greatest strength,” Kokou said.

“The work we do here is not administrative; it is lifesaving. It is about ensuring that the 355 million people of West Africa can live healthier, safer, and more dignified lives.”

Kokou said national directors of laboratory services, surveillance, and Emergency Operations Centres from all 15 West African member states, alongside public health leaders, used the meeting to review achievements, share visions, and plan activities for 2026. He thanked Nigeria for its continued support and disclosed that the centre is developing a framework for a coordinated regional emergency response platform.

According to him, the meeting also provided an opportunity for member states to present progress reports on their national public health institutes, identify regional priorities for 2026, and learn from shared experiences.

Also speaking, the UNFPA Resident Representative, Ms Muriel Mafico, highlighted the importance of health sector preparedness and lessons learned from past epidemics.

She noted that investing in preparedness would save lives, reduce costs, and enable timely responses to health emergencies.

Mafico stressed that strong national and regional leadership is critical, emphasising the need for increased domestic financing. “We need resources that will be invested in preparedness in the region,” she said.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary at The Gambia’s Ministry of Health and Chair of RETAC Western Region, Dr Yusupha Touray, said the theme of the meeting was timely, given the need to strengthen health systems across West Africa based on past experiences.

Touray said stronger regional collaboration would enable countries to pool resources and improve collective responses to health challenges. “Even though Africa has some of the best brains, we suffered when vaccines were scarce, and we continue to face pandemics and outbreaks across the region, sometimes struggling to contain them,” he said.

At the close of the meeting, Africa CDC, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and other member states reaffirmed their commitment to establishing a harmonised and coordinated public health emergency preparedness and response platform across West Africa.

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