During the prestigious Awolowo Prize for Leadership ceremony in Lagos, Akinwumi Adesina disclosed a striking fact: Africa heavily relies on imports for 70-80% of its medicines. This revelation came alongside Adesina’s delivery of the annual lecture for the Awolowo Foundation on ‘Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-Centred Development.’
Reflecting on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Adesina emphasized Africa’s vulnerability, stating that the continent was ill-prepared and inadequately protected. Moreover, Africa was at the bottom of the priority list for vaccine distribution.
Highlighting the economic ramifications, Adesina underscored that Africa suffers an alarming annual loss of $2.6 trillion due to diminished productivity from health-related issues.
Addressing this critical issue, Adesina outlined several initiatives spearheaded by the Bank Group. Among these initiatives are a $10 billion facility designed to aid countries in pandemic management, a $3 billion program to rejuvenate Africa’s pharmaceutical sector, and the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. This foundation seeks to facilitate access to proprietary technologies from global pharmaceutical giants.
Adesina urged Nigeria to prioritize the health of its entire population, stressing the necessity for universal healthcare coverage. He said, “Nigeria needs health care for all,” emphasizing that forward-thinking governments ensure universal basic health coverage for their citizens.
According to Adesina, achieving this goal entails guaranteeing that healthcare facilities are easily accessible, with no citizen required to travel long distances. He proposed the widespread deployment of mobile health centres, e-health facilities, and the digitalization of health systems, particularly in primary healthcare centres. Additionally, Adesina advocated for inclusive health insurance policies, including innovative micro-health insurance pay-as-you-go systems, to extend coverage to most of the population, especially those in the informal sector.
