Bill Gates to visit Nigeria days after Tinubu announces adviser on health

The co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), one of the world’s most prominent private investors in the global healthcare system, Bill Gates, is set to visit Nigeria to discuss issues around health and development in the country and the continent of Africa.

This visit is coming a few days after President Bola Tinubu announced Salma Anas as his special adviser on health.

Mrs Anas is one of the first advisers appointed by the president who has barely spent 20 days in office.

Stakeholders in the nation’s health sector have described Mr Tinubu’s action as a welcome development, saying it signals the importance his administration may accord the health sector.

They also hailed the appointee as a round peg in a round hole, saying her more than 25 years in health sector development would count in assisting the new administration in implementing its healthcare development plans.

In a statement issued weekend by the BMGF media team, Mr Gates will be in Niger and Nigeria next week.

Though not stated in the statement, PREMIUM TIMES learnt the visitor will also meet the president and other stakeholders, including the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

Mr Gates’ visit to the two African nations is said to be a follow-up to his earlier visit to China and aimed at “discussing global health and development with national and local leaders, foundation partners, grantees, scientists, and young innovators.”

The statement also noted that the visit is part of the Foundation’s commitment “to work closely with communities and leaders to support innovation that can help accelerate progress and improve lives across Africa.”

The statement added: “Gates and other foundation leaders are visiting to learn from partners helping to address polio, anaemia, and other health threats; scientists applying research to develop agricultural innovations that will help with food security and climate adaptation; innovators using technology to improve access to financial services; and others working to improve lives in Niger and Nigeria and throughout the continent.

“They will also meet with national and regional leaders to encourage them to make investments and advance policies that promote innovation and provide equitable opportunity, despite challenging economic conditions.”

According to the statement, Mr Gates is also expected to engage Nigerian students and young leaders in a conversation to gain “their insights and share perspectives on how science and innovation can accelerate positive change and contribute to a brighter outlook for Africa.”

“The moderated event, Advancing Africa: Unleashing the Power of Youth in Science and Innovation, will be co-hosted by the Co-Creation Hub Nigeria and Lagos Business School and live-streamed across Africa by media partners Africa.com and Channels Television. It will take place at 10a.m WAT (Lagos) on 21 June,” the statement added.

BMGF’s investments in Nigeria

The Foundation said since its establishment in 2000, it has supported partnerships with various governmental and non-governmental institutions, including local communities, across 49 nations on the continent.

The areas of partnership, the Foundation further noted, include but are not limited to providing funding support and scientific expertise in support of the beneficiaries’ agendas for change.

“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation believes that solutions to Africa’s greatest challenges can come from within Africa. This is why the foundation supports African partners whose bold ideas and creative approaches have the potential to save lives, improve health, and help families across the continent,” BMGF said.

In Nigeria, in particular, BMGF said it works with the government, the private sector, non-profit organisations, and civil society “to improve health outcomes, boost agricultural productivity, expand access to digital financial services, and empower women and other marginalised populations with greater economic opportunities.”

The foundation added that in Nigeria’s neighbouring Niger Republic, it works with the government and multilateral organisations to strengthen routine immunisation and control polio outbreaks.

The foundation said the partnerships had driven the success of numerous health, agriculture, equality, and anti-poverty initiatives.