National Health Summit Seeks Community Leadership to Drive Reform, Expand Access, and Strengthen Accountability
By Joy Onu, Abuja
In a bid to translate national health policies into everyday community action, the Federal Government is engaging traditional and religious leaders as central actors in ongoing health sector reforms.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, outlined the approach at a press briefing in Abuja ahead of the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders’ Summit on Health. The forum, now expanded, forms part of the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and is anchored on the Health Sector Renewal Compact.
The reforms focus on four priorities: stronger governance and accountability, wider access to quality healthcare, development of the health value chain, and improved national health security and system resilience.
“Government policies alone cannot change health outcomes. Those outcomes are shaped by everyday choices, beliefs, and behaviours within communities. Traditional and religious leaders are indispensable in bridging that gap,” Pate said.
Approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the National Health Act 2014, the summit aims to align community leadership with the federal reform blueprint while reinforcing accountability at federal, state, and local levels.
Key highlights include the launch of the National Health Fellows Programme, which will develop young Nigerians’ leadership capacity in the health system, and a structured dialogue on the Nigeria–United States Memorandum of Understanding supporting HIV, TB, and Malaria responses. The five-year arrangement sees the U.S. contribute $2 billion, with Nigeria providing $3 billion, ensuring domestic ownership remains central.
Pate clarified that only 10 per cent of U.S. funds are allocated to faith-based health facilities, stressing the allocation is non-religious and aimed at improving access and service delivery.
For the first time, the summit brings together traditional and religious leaders nationwide in a unified forum addressing broader priorities, including maternal and child health, nutrition, human resources for health, and service delivery systems.
The session drew the Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollom, mni, ministry directors, senior officials, and development partners, underscoring broad commitment to translating policies into tangible community health outcomes.
