President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted automatic employment to 774 fellows of the national health programme.
The president made the announcement during the presidential launch of the programme in Abuja, emphasizing the fellows’ role in monitoring Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across all 774 local government areas.
Addressing the fellows, Tinubu declared: “You are hired,” pledging their absorption into the workforce.
He further stated: “The Coordinating Minister and the champion of this program have requested approval, and luckily, the Minister of Finance is here also.”
Highlighting the programme’s significance, the President stressed that it is designed to expose participants to best practices, equip them with knowledge and skills, and strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
“Healthcare is a critical pillar of national development. No country can prosper if its people are unhealthy. Unsustainable health programs pose a significant danger, and sustainable development is only possible with a strong healthcare system—you are the pillars,” he remarked.
His announcement followed an appeal by Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, who urged federal, state, and local governments to integrate the fellows into the workforce to support universal health coverage.
The National Health Fellows Scheme is designed to drive innovation and impactful change in the health sector. Fellows were selected on a merit-based process from over 359,000 applicants.
President Bola Tinubu, a few minutes ago, in a surprise move, approved the appointment of all the fellows used in the first edition of the National Health Fellows Programme pic.twitter.com/X4Kn2heh5B
— Ayekooto (@DeeOneAyekooto) March 6, 2025
The initiative is a key component of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at revitalizing Nigeria’s primary healthcare system.
Similarly, Tinubu has approved a subsidy on kidney dialysis for Nigerians, reducing the cost for Nigerians from N50,000 to N12,000.
The subsidy is being implemented across the six geopolitical zones at some federal medical institutions.
Participating institutions include the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Ebute-Metta Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Abuja, the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Maiduguri.
Others are the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Abeokuta, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Azare, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) Benin, and University of Calabar Teaching (UCTH) Calabar.
The subsidy was launched in January at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi.
According to Hammatu Haruna, the manager-in-charge of the renal centre at the teaching hospital, patients are happy about the subsidy.
“They are paying only N12,000, and our patients are very happy with this initiative, and we have seen improvement, remarkably in patients’ condition,” she said.
“Patients used to find it difficult to afford it; even if you tell them the amount, they have to go back and sell something before they can afford to come for dialysis. Some even prefer to stay at home since they cannot afford it.”
She said 35 patients have benefitted from the scheme since it was launched on January 8 this year, adding that the federal ministry of health has provided adequate resources to ensure the success of the programme.
“We appreciate the federal government of Nigeria; they gave us one dialysis machine; they gave us over 900 dialysers. We have almost everything at hand.
Several cases of kidney failure have recently been reported in the news.
In February, the Yobe government said it had deployed 50 health experts to investigate the root causes of the spike in kidney failure cases in some parts of the state.
Mahmud Maina, director of the Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre at the Yobe State University, said the team comprises 50 experts, which include neurology consultants, laboratory scientists, nephrologists, geologists, chemists, echo toxicologists, and collaborators from the UK, US, and Ghana.
Maina said the team would conduct interviews with 2,000 people in Bade and Damaturu LGAs to determine whether the causes are environmental, lifestyle-related, or genetic.
