Although the Coronavirus pandemic has affected lives and livelihoods of Nigerians in various ways, it, however, offers an opportunity for the Nigerian people and government to have a reset in critical sectors of the economy and social services, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated this on Thursday, at the virtual launch of the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF), an initiative of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Global Citizen, and other partners.
The Vice President joined the event from his office.
The NSSF is designed to provide additional support for Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fund will enable Nigerian Citizens resident at home or in the diaspora as well as international donors to come together and directly contribute to Nigeria’s fight against the pandemic.
Speaking on the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy, the Vice President said the establishment of the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund would support “the creation of a stronger, more resilient, more inclusive political economy and healthcare system.”
According to him, “this is a creative, forward-looking and thoughtful response to what is perhaps the most profound global and domestic challenge to health and the economy in human history.
“We need not belabour the point that the COVID-19 challenge is also an unprecedented opportunity for us as a nation and people to reset in critical sectors of the economy and social services.
Emphasising the point about resetting Nigeria’s systems, Osinbajo said “The deep plunge in oil earnings, the disruptions to business and commerce on account of lockdowns, have meant that we must develop a comprehensive economic response.”
Speaking about the efforts being made by the Federal Government to ensure that Nigeria is properly positioned to deal with the fallouts of the pandemic, Osinbajo said “there are several initiatives in place now to attempt an effective response to the COVID-19 disaster.”
Continuing, the Vice President noted that “in addition, there is the drive to re-engineer and rethink our healthcare delivery systems. This by itself, is a massive undertaking that will involve the states, local governments and the private healthcare community. I was excited to hear that Global Citizen already has in mind, a project to build healthcare centres across every local government in Nigeria.
“In the past few years, I’m sure those of you familiar with the activities of government probably note there’s been quite a bit of effort around creating a Social Investment Programme. The precise purpose of that is not just to provide safety nets for several of the vulnerable and poor in our midst, but more importantly to provide jobs, provide credit to several informal traders, smallholder farmers, several others in our economic value chain who are usually ignored or untouched by several other credit facilities and other economic initiatives of government.
“This fund will support that and I have noticed that this is one of the objectives – to support the Social Investment efforts of the government, especially the protection of the vulnerable and provision of assistance to many in that huge informal sector that we have.”
He commended the NSIA, Global Fund and other partners involved in the creation of the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund.
Also at the virtual launch were Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NSIA, Mr Jide Zeitlin; the Managing Director, NSIA, Mr Uche Orji; the Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, Mr Babatunde Folawiyo; the Vice Chairman, Global Citizen Nigeria, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; Chief Policy Officer, Global Citizen, Mr. Michael Sheldrick; media practitioners and other professionals.
Below are their contributions:
Mr. Michael Sheldrick Chief Policy Officer Global Citizen:
●Global Citizen’s ongoing commitment to the African continent and, in particular, Nigeria is motivated by two key factors: The shift in geopolitical power towards emerging markets, and the recognition that developing countries want and need to have agency over their own development, makes a presence in the sub-Saharan region vital to the long-term success of any initiative seeking to end extreme poverty. 2.Nigeria has a long history of active citizenship, a vibrant democracy, and a powerful pop culture (driven by music, art, and sport) – all of which make it a strong fit for the Global Citizen movement. It is also a gateway to the rest of the African continent and, particularly, key countries like Ghana and Kenya. ●Our involvement in establishing the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund alongside the NSIA directly aligns with our Nigeria policy direction for 2020 which seeks to mobilize funds and commitment to Nigeria’s most marginalised people. These investments will be aimed at implementation of Universal Healthcare Coverage; and improving the health of the poorest women, children, and adolescents in Nigeria which the solidarity funds core response areas directly supports the overarching goals for our Nigeria policy direction. I am pleased that our vision as an organization is being realised through establishment of this fund and we will continue to support the country office and the Nigerian board to make sure the fund achieves its mandate. ●I thank you for your time and I hereby handover the floor to the Moderator1
Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo
●Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2030. With over 10 million monthly advocates, Global Citizen’s voices have the power to drive lasting change around sustainability, equality, and humanity. ●Through our work with partners, the actions of our global community, along with high-level advocacy efforts, this has resulted in commitments and policy announcements from world leaders valued at over $48 billion (insert Naira conversion), affecting the lives of more than 2.25 billion people across the globe by 2030. ●As we embark upon our work in Nigeria, Global Citizen will mobilize Nigerians, Nigerians in the diaspora, our global partners, together with the philanthropic and private sectors in our nation’s fight against COVID-19. ●Nigeria’s recovery from this deadly pandemic requires the commitment of each one of us. Through the Nigeria Solidarity Relief Fund, together, and in solidarity, we will rebuild towards a more responsive and resilient Nigeria in the aftermath of this disaster. This is why Global Citizen is honored to collaborate with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority to launch a campaign later this month, which will engage each of us as Nigerians- to do our part, take action and help mobilize support for this critical effort, and time in our nation.
Vice Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
The Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund is being established to provide immediate and long-term support in the fight against COVID-19. This Fund, created by Nigerians for Nigeria, will target four core COVID-19 response, mitigation and recovery areas including: 1. Supporting the most vulnerable 2. Strengthening the domestic healthcare systems 3. Expanding access to rural and community focused universal healthcare 4. Re-skilling and re-tooling for Nigeria’s Renaissance post COVID-19●The COVID 19 pandemic manifests primarily as a global health challenge. It is clear however that its impact far exceeds the health sector. Our efforts, therefore, must not be limited to acute health response. ●We believe that to effectively support Nigeria’s response efforts and to emerge from this as a more resilient nation, our efforts must take an integrated, systems approach at the center of which is a mandate to support our most vulnerable communities. ●Our efforts must ensure that we are able to envision and meet the demands that will emerge in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is imperative as the nation adjusts to the realities of a changing economy, transitions to a “new normal” and embraces the Nigeria of the future.●This a summary of why we are here and what we hope to accomplish in a broad sense.
Minister of Finance Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed:
●As many Nigerians are facing unprecedented challenges from Covid-19 the strain on our government is extreme, and the impact on people all over the country continues to grow. The shock from the effects of Covid-19 is somewhat unusual, as it affects significant elements of both supply and demand. ●Supply is disrupted due to morbidity and mortality, but also the containment efforts that restrict mobility, and the high cost of doing business due to restricted supply chains and the tightening of credit. Demand is also falling due to high uncertainty, increased precautionary behavior, containment efforts, and rise in financial cost that reduce the ability to spend. ●How long the impact would be is still difficult to predict. It would depend on the pandemic, and it would depend on the timeliness and effectiveness of our actions. And I want to focus on those. Number one priority in terms of fiscal response is ensuring frontline health-related spending to protect people’s well-being, to take care of the sick, and slow the spread of the virus. ●I cannot emphasize enough how urgent it is for a fund vehicle like the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund to help the Government in funding Covid-19 response efforts and supply of the necessary, protective and treatment equipment and long term strengthening of healthcare systems. ●The NSIA is a credible government agency tasked with driving economic development and fund management across Nigeria. Global Citizen’s partnership with NSIA provides the right vehicle for fund management and disbursement transparency in support of the Government’s Covid-19 response.
Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Mr. Uche Orji
●The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s mission is to drive sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians, by enhancing the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure, and providing stabilisation support in times of economic stress. ●The COVID- 19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented health, social and economic stress on our nation. We are thrilled to partner with Global Citizen in launching the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund, as the Fund Manager. ●In outlining NSIA’s infrastructure investment strategy, we took a long-term approach to intervening in the healthcare sector. Our goal had been to create model tertiary healthcare facilities designed and equipped to international standards to reduce the foreign exchange burden of medical tourism and develop domestic expertise in tertiary healthcare. We have had some successes on this front notably through our 3 flagship projects: the Cancer Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Advanced Diagnostic Centres at Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU) and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH). ●The Solidarity Fund will enable the expansion of primary health care, thereby improving access, building capacity, and enhancing the resilience of our nation’s health delivery, especially in rural and underserved communities. ●Through this partnership, we at NSIA look forward to working with Global Citizen to innovate and transform the delivery of services to the Nigerian people in the wake of the COVID – 19 pandemic.
Mr. Jide Zeitlin Chairman Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority
●It is important for us as a board and an organisation to support collaborations to ensure Nigeria can respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.The unprecedented challenge demands that we embrace flexibility as never before on partnerships with the right organizations to help mobilize support for the fund as well as building sustainable systems in our communities.●There will be many lessons to be learned. COVID-19 has shone a light on the pressing need for cross-sectoral partnerships that spark transformative systemic shifts in our health system, our food system, and beyond. ●Bringing good governance process and oversight to the fund management practice is of utmost importance to us, we will ensure that all necessary processes, procedures, resources and policies are in place within the fund management structure to allow the fund vehicle to carry out its obligations and that its operating as expected and delivering its intended outcome.
