By Hassan Zaggi
The Special Adviser (SA) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Health, Dr. Salma Ibrahim Anas, has said that the immediate past Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, made a remarkable impact in the health sector.
She stated this at an event to celebrate the outgoing NPHCDA Executive Director in Abuja, weekend.
While noting that Dr. Shuiab is a team player, the SA to the president noted that it is rare to see a leader being celebrated after leaving office.
“This event is a demonstration that Dr. Faisal Shuaib, the period he has served for 7 years have been very impactful.
“He drove the vision of Nigeria towards attaining the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and worked as a team.
“He successfully ended Polio and he has done a lot of work in the area of Maternal new born and child health.”
She further explained that Dr. Shuiab partnered with stakeholders to strengthen the primary health care system.
“It’s very rear to see a Nigerian been celebrated like we see here today. It is a demonstration that Dr. Shuaib has made a mark and we pray that Almighty Allah will continue to give him more wisdom and may he continue to contribute to Nigerians at any level he finds himself.
“I urge those still in service to emulate the good work of Dr. Shuaib. This is why we are celebrating him today. He has made an impact though no one can boast of having all the knowledge but it is a team work.”
On his part, while responding to questions from journalists, Dr. Shuaib, commended the staff of the NPHCDA and all workers who are working at primary healthcare centres across the country for supporting him to achieve major milestones in the history of the agency.
“I acknowledge the incredible work that the staff of NPHCDA and the partners have done in the last 7years. It have been amazing in the annals of the health sector.
“There are lot we have done. We have been able to eradicate polio virus, we have been able to reduce the number of circulating Polio viruses. We have been able to do an incredible job of making sure that Nigerians get Covid-19 vaccine. We have improved on routine immunisation and so many things the staff of NPHCDA have done.”
He, therefore, commended former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for giving him the enabling environment to contribute to the growth of the health sector in Nigeria.
“We have laid the foundation for the development of the primary health care system, we have articulated a comprehensive strategy to make sure that we transform primary health care in Nigeria so that you can walk into the primary health care centres in your village and be treated with respect, dignity and also get great quality health care.
“For us, as I leave this stage, I am proud of what we have done together as a partnership and I am very confident that my successor and all the people that will come after me will build on that legacy and in no too distant future Nigerians will begin to reap the benefits of a well thought out plan to transform primary health care.”
