Health
Northern youths celebrate Alliance Hospital CMD, gives him award
Youths from the 19 northern states of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday, celebrated the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Alliance Hospital, Dr Christopher Otabor for reversing medical tourism in the country.
The youths expressed their joy, saying that the patriotic zeal injected into the medical profession by Dr Otabor has helped to reverse medical tourism, thus generating income for the country.
The youths who operated under the aegis of the Northern Youths Association of Nigeria expressed their appreciation and presented to the Chief consultant orthopedic surgeon, the highest leadership award.
The youth presented to the CMD “Sir Ahmadu Bello Platinum Leadership and Northern Heroes Award.
Speaking through its president, Comrade Adams Bogoro, the group explained that
having followed the activities of the medical practitioner for long, it found him worthy to bell one of the recipients of the prestigious awards.
Bogoro described Otabor as an “Icon of nation-building, explaining that the award was in recognition of his immense contributions and philanthropy.
He said that the CMD had performed well in the areas of human transformation and educational transformation for the benefit of humanity and the country at large.
Bogoro said that the Northern Youth Association of Nigeria found it compelling to identify with Otabor for positive contributions to humanity and Nigerian society, to spur him to do more.
He insisted that Alliance Hospital had done very well to change the narrative in medical tourism, adding that the Northern youths were in the hospital to identify with the hospital.
“We are here to identify with you on what you have been doing. You have contributed positively to the Nigerian society, so we are here to encourage you to do more.
“We have been following your antecedents for quite some time, this hospital has done well in the area of impacting health, It is based on this that this group deemed it fit to consider you as one of the recipients of our awards.
“The award is to spur you, the award is to encourage you, the award is to motivate you to do more.
“The award is also to catalyze for you to continue to give your best to the service of the nation as you have always been doing.
“We are one people with a common destiny as exemplified by the founding fathers of Nigeria, most especially those from the northern extraction such as Sir Ahmadu Bello, Abubarkar Tafarwa Balewa, Joseph Tarka, Mallam Aminu Kano, Sunday Awoniyi and others, may their souls rest in peace.
“As part of the convention of the group, we try as much as possible to identify with people like you who have demonstrated patriotism to the country,” Bogoro said.
In his response, Otabor who was overwhelmed with joy thanked the group for finding him worthy of the award.
He commended the youth for organizing, and not joining the bandwagon in the society.
“This is quite commendable. When you have many youths constituting themselves as a problem to the country by getting involved in terrorism, banditry, and armed robbery, here you are organizing yourselves for a good course, yours is commendable.
“On behalf of the management of Alliance Hospital and the highly respected top management staff, I wish to formally accept this award, the Saudana Award. Thank you very much for considering me fit for this prestigious award.
I want to assure you that this would encourage us to do even more of what you have already seen in me,” he said.
“I warmly welcome you to Alliance Hospital, Abuja. A one-stop shop for multi-specialty care.
Alliance Hospital was established in 2011, with a clear mandate of stopping medical tourism, because medical tourism has been a big shame to this country.
” With a population of over 200 million people, our nationals are going out of the country for medical care- to India, Egypt, USA and other countries.
“A lot of people talk about the problem and not many people talk about the solution, so I decided that we would be part of the solution rather than just talking about the problem.
Health
Experts call for pharma sector harmonisation
Health sector experts have called for the harmonisation of pharmaceutical activities in Nigeria to eliminate duplication, enhance efficiency, and improve access to quality medicines and health products.
The call was made on Wednesday in Abuja during a high-level stakeholders’ engagement focused on aligning efforts under the Improving Access to Medicines through Policy and Technical Support (IMPACT) project.
Dr Tayo Hamzat, Supply Chain Management Officer at the World Health Organisation (WHO), said the engagement was timely, considering the number of ongoing but uncoordinated interventions in the sector.
“Harmonisation will lead to faster access to health products, lower costs, improved efficiency, and better regulatory oversight.
“It requires collaboration and a focus on strengthening national systems.”
He described Nigeria’s pharmaceutical system as “robust and huge” but hindered by weak coordination and fragmented management structures.
Dr Francis Ohanyido, Director-General of the West Africa Institute of Public Health, said such collaboration was “common sense” given limited development financing and the need to optimise resources.
“Market shaping is a critical tool.
“Harmonisation can help us identify clear gaps we need to fill, especially in preparation for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” he said.
Dr Anthony Ayeke, Programme Manager for Health and Nutrition at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting a resilient, locally driven pharmaceutical sector.
“Harmonisation can accelerate local production, reduce import dependency, and improve healthcare system resilience,” he noted.
He also recommended regulatory streamlining, value chain capacity building, innovation, and public-private partnerships.
Dr Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator of the Pharmaceutical Value Chain Transformation Committee (PVAC), commended ongoing efforts under the IMPACT project.
Represented by Dr Muhammad Balarabe, Technical Associate at PVAC, he emphasised the committee’s focus on catalysing local production and attracting sustainable investment.
“Let’s use this platform to strengthen partnerships and align interventions with the vision of affordable, high-quality healthcare for all Nigerians,” he said.
Dr Obi Adigwe, Director-General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), said fragmented interventions and redundant regulations had long stunted growth in the sector.
Represented by Prof. Philip Builders, Professor of Pharmaceutics at NIPRD he said: “Equitable access to quality medicine is the foundation of universal healthcare.
“The lack of access is not just a health issue; it’s about equity, national security, and economic survival.
“Harmonisation isn’t just about avoiding duplication; it’s about aligning policy, investment, and technical frameworks to achieve measurable results.”
He urged stakeholders to develop practical short, medium, and long-term strategies to make Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector self-reliant, globally competitive, and able to meet national healthcare demands.
The meeting brought together key government agencies, development partners, and private sector actors, each reaffirming a shared commitment to a unified, efficient pharmaceutical ecosystem in Nigeria.
NAN
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