The Federal Government, in partnership with the European Union (EU) and ECOWAS, on Thursday 30th October, signed three landmark agreements.

These agreements, which are part of the EU Global Gateway Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines, and Health Technologies (MAV+) initiative and SRHR flagships, will support a new generation of local producers and innovators who will build a stronger and more resilient health ecosystem across Nigeria and West Africa.

The agreements are: Enabling Local Manufacturing of Health, Immunisation and Nutrition Commodities in Nigeria (ELM-N), Quality Uplift for Advancing Local Industry in Medicine Standards (Qualimeds Nigeria) and Strengthening Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in West Africa.

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In his address during the Nigeria-EU Health Investment Forum hosted by the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), and the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) in Abuja, Vice-President Kashim Shettima noted that the signing of the agreements reaffirm the federal government’s resolve to build a sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-driven health economy.

Highlighting how President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order on local production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices marked a turning point in Nigeria, he said, “Through the presidential initiative for Unlocking the healthcare value chain (PVAC), and complementary frameworks such as the sector-wide approach (SWAp), this administration has taken concrete steps to strengthen health governance, strengthen and stimulate investment and promote local manufacturing.”

Shettima, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Health, Office of the Vice President, Dr. Uju Rochas, stressed that the federal government remains steadfast in creating an enabling environment for investors and innovators through predictable regulations, strong institutions, and public-private collaborations.

He said, “Our message is clear: Nigeria is open for health investment, innovation, and impact. The President has declared that Nigeria’s health transformation will not be driven by aid and dependency alone, but by government to drive ownership, accountability and innovation: Made in Nigeria, for Nigerians, and by Nigerians.”

Commending the EU, PVAC, NIPRD, and other development partners for their commitment to advancing health security, technology transfer, and industrialisation in Nigeria, he added, “As we formally declare this forum open and witness the signing of these landmark agreements, let it mark the beginning of a new chapter, one defined by shared prosperity, local innovation, and global collaboration.”

The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, in his remarks, stated that the forum demonstrates Team Europe’s shared commitment to improving health across borders, through strategic investments.

“Working alongside all of our partners, including the Nigerian Authorities, United Nations, wider international community, and the private sector, we must build robust, resilient, and efficient health and social welfare systems to ensure prosperity for all,” he said.

He noted that the EU has been a long-standing partner of Nigeria and ECOWAS in health, supporting health in all its dimensions; from access to health services and large-scale immunisation, to polio eradication, medical research, and family planning: both through in-country programmes and contributions to multilateral pharmacies.

“We continue to support Nigeria through our Global Gateway initiatives, particularly reproductive health and maternal and child health, where we have a large ongoing project of €45 million in Nigeria, and almost €25 million in West Africa, funded with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Gates Foundation.”

He added, “We also have upcoming initiatives on digital health and public health systems. But more than anything, we want to support the paradigm shift taking place in Nigeria and West Africa, moving from aid to peer-to-peer collaboration, from standalone projects, however important, to a dynamic investment strategy. And this is what our Global Gateway Investment Strategy is about.”

Mignot added that “Beyond these important projects that are going to be signed today, this event was designed to showcase our shared way to invest and commit, bringing together our companies, banks, and financial institutions to network and to discuss today’s investments, opportunities in health, and plan those of tomorrow.”