Nigeria and Brazil move from agreements to action with a joint plan and procurement deal aimed at lowering costs and improving healthcare delivery.
By Nafisat Makinde
Nigerians may soon enjoy cheaper medicines and stronger health services following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s state visit to Brazil, where healthcare featured prominently in renewed bilateral discussions. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described the visit as “the restart of Nigeria-Brazil relationship,” signaling a fresh era of cooperation.
Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako, who joined the President’s delegation, confirmed that Nigeria proposed a Five-Year Joint Action Plan to implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed in July with Brazil’s Ministry of Health. “This is designed to ensure Nigerians enjoy real improvements in health delivery,” Salako said during the meetings in Brasília on Monday, August 25.
Nigeria also proposed a strategic government-to-government procurement arrangement to strengthen supply chains and make essential medicines and medical equipment more affordable for both countries.
President Tinubu emphasized that the renewed partnership was designed to serve citizens directly. “This is about ensuring that our people, both in Nigeria and Brazil, feel the impact of stronger cooperation in their daily lives,” he said.
President Lula echoed the sentiment, stressing that the relationship is about more than trade. “What we are building is more than an agreement; it is a brotherhood of progress and shared responsibility,” he told delegates.
The visit marks another milestone in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with health, trade, and social development positioned at the heart of Nigeria’s international alliances.
