Tinubu authorizes the creation of a health sector management unit
The Sector-wide Coordinating Office-Program Management Unit (SCO-PMU), which will be housed in the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has been approved by President Bola Tinubu.
The development is to ensure effective, transparent, and accountable management of external grants mobilized towards the implementation of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), according to a statement released on Friday by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Advisor to the President (Media & Publicity).
A Steering Committee/Ministerial Oversight Committee, presided over by the Minister, will receive reports from the Sector-wide Coordinating Office-Program Management Unit (SCO-PMU). This committee will include the Minister of State, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, and pertinent development partners.
The SCO-PMU will serve as the secretariat and delivery unit for the NHSRII and is to be headed by a national coordinator.
The functions of the SCO-PMU include programme management, monitoring and evaluation, engagement and supervision of Independent Verification Agents (IVAs) for NHSRII programmes, and fiduciary management, among others.
Consequently, the president has approved the appointment of Dr. Muntaqa Umar Sadiq as the National Coordinator of the Sector-wide Coordinating Office-Programme Management Unit.
Dr Umar Sadiq has over 17 years of experience in public health, impact investing, investment banking, energy, and climate financing across the health, finance, climate, and energy sectors.
In addition to his roles at the World Bank as a Private Sector Engagement Adviser, he has held positions as Chief Executive Officer of the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, Head of the Nigeria Energy Transition Office, and Head of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
Dr. Umar Sadiq is a London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine PhD candidate in public health. In addition to his medical science/MBBS degree from Imperial College, London, he also has an M.Phil. in Bioscience Enterprise from the University of Cambridge.
After the National Council on Health adopted the sector-wide policy in November 2023, the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) was unveiled on December 12, 2023.
The NHSRII is an initiative aimed at improving both population health outcomes and the country’s pool of human capital, with the primary objectives of saving lives, minimising physical and financial pains, and ensuring the health of all Nigerians.
So far, $2.2bn has been mobilised in external financing to catalyse the implementation of the NHSRII through financial commitments from various development partners.
