The African Union (AU) has appointed President Bola Tinubu as the “AU Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.
The appointment according to Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, is hinged on President Tinubu’s ambitious, innovative, and people-focused efforts in the health sector, including the commitment to train 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide within 16 months and to double the number of primary health facilities in communities across all Local Government Areas of the federation from 8,800 to over 17,000 over the next three years.
The letter bearing the new appointment was authorized by the Commission of the African Union, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and was routed through Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The letter indicates that President Tinubu was appointed on the recommendation of the Committee of Heads of State and Government of Africa CDC, under the leadership of His Excellency, President Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union.
In his new role, President Tinubu will address the Ministerial Executive Leadership Programme (MELP), under the theme, ‘Impactful leadership in health: a whole government approach,’ on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Africa CDC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the sidelines of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Governments.