In a move many stakeholders describe as proactive and timely, the Federal Government of Nigeria has taken a decisive stand on Africa’s medicine security and continental self-reliance at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, February 13, 2026.
At the high-level event themed “Building Africa’s Health Security Sovereignty,” Nigeria called on African leaders to rethink the continent’s approach to health. The message was simple but urgent: Africa must reduce its dependence on foreign aid and fragile global supply chains and build strong, local systems capable of protecting its people during crises. The discussion formed part of wider conversations at the AU Summit, where leaders examined how to deepen integration and strengthen Africa’s strategic independence.
Major deliberations at the summit hinted at the diminishing sovereignty of a continent with over one billion people, who have to always queue for vaccines, oxygen and basic medicines during global crises. It would be recalled that, for many Africans, the COVID-19 pandemic was not just a health emergency; it was a harsh reminder of vulnerability. Hospitals struggled for supplies. Families searched desperately for oxygen. Countries waited, pleaded and improvised while wealthier nations secured what they needed first.
Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice-President, Kashim Shettima described health security as both a moral responsibility and a strategic necessity. Africa, he said, cannot tie its healthcare future to the shifting interests of distant nations or the panic that often drives global responses in emergencies.
He argued that sovereignty must be tangible. It should be seen in functioning factories, accredited laboratories and trained frontline health workers. It should be evident in dismantled counterfeit drug networks and expanded health insurance for citizens. “When history reflects on this generation of African leadership,” Shettima said, “may it record that when confronted with vulnerability, we chose capacity; when confronted with dependence, we chose dignity; and when confronted with uncertainty, we chose cooperation.”
The Vice-President revisited the lessons of COVID-19. When countries closed borders and turned inward, Africa was exposed. Vaccines were rationed. Oxygen ran short. Global supply chains, once taken for granted, became instruments of inequality. While African countries demonstrated resilience, endurance alone cannot replace deliberate capacity building. “Health security is national security,” he said. “And in an interconnected continent, national security is continental security. A virus does not carry a passport. A counterfeit medicine does not respect a border. A pandemic does not wait for bureaucracy.”
Nigeria’s proposals are anchored on collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The goal is to mobilise investment in the health workforce, strengthen community health systems and ensure sustainable immunisation programmes. The initiative aims to address structural weaknesses that have long made Africa vulnerable to outbreaks.
Shettima emphasised that Nigeria is not only speaking for the continent but also taking action domestically. Central to this effort is the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, launched in December 2023. The programme secured over $2.2 billion in commitments tied to measurable targets. Among its goals are the revitalisation of more than 17,000 primary healthcare centres nationwide, training 120,000 frontline health workers and expanding health insurance coverage within three years through reforms led by the National Health Insurance Authority. According to the Vice-President, sovereignty must rest not only on infrastructure but also on financial protection for citizens.
In addition to financing reforms, Nigeria is strengthening its epidemic intelligence and emergency response through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). Laboratory networks are being upgraded, genomic surveillance expanded and emergency operations centres reinforced to ensure rapid response to outbreaks. Regulatory oversight is also receiving renewed attention. Shettima said the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stepped up enforcement against substandard and falsified medicines, upgraded quality-control laboratories and streamlined approval processes for compliant manufacturers. Sovereignty without standards, he warned, leaves citizens at risk.
Beyond public health infrastructure, the FG is looking to unlock the healthcare value chain. Through the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain, Nigeria hopes to remove obstacles facing domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical device assemblers and biotechnology innovators. By encouraging investment in local drug production, diagnostics and biotechnology research, Nigeria aims to reduce import dependence and become a regional hub of excellence. Shettima noted that private sector participation is central to this agenda, as governments alone cannot sustain health sovereignty.
Earlier in the session, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, thanked the Africa CDC and African Union Commission for their partnership. He said Nigeria is committed to leading by example, translating ambition into tangible results. Prof. Pate highlighted ongoing work to build a reliable health workforce database and strengthen workforce skills to handle emergencies. He acknowledged the longstanding gap between urban and rural health services and said efforts are underway to ensure that underserved communities are no longer left behind.
Setting the tone for broader continental engagement, the Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, pointed to persistent shortages of skilled health workers across Africa and the fragility of many community health systems. While commending Nigeria’s reforms, he noted that investments across the continent remain fragmented and insufficient. Kaseya called for stronger coordination among African nations, stressing that pooled resources and shared strategies are essential to reversing negative trends and preparing effectively for future pandemics.
Health ministers from Senegal, Malawi and Ethiopia expressed support for Nigeria’s initiative, pledging to implement reforms in their own countries and strengthen workforce databases and community health systems. Representatives from the African Union Commission, GAVI and UNICEF also delivered messages of support, highlighting the need for sustained political commitment and coordinated investment in human resources for health.
At the end of the forum, a communiqué presented by Prof. Pate on behalf of AU Ministers of Health and Finance called on leaders and development partners to prioritise human resources and community health workers as central to primary healthcare, universal health coverage and pandemic preparedness. The communiqué urged faster progress toward the target of two million community health workers by 2030, increased domestic funding for workforce development and the implementation of national and continental health acceleration plans.
For Nigeria, the message was clear: Africa cannot continue outsourcing its survival. Medicine security must move from dependence to dignity and from promise to action. Whether the commitments made at the AU Summit will translate into real change across hospitals, laboratories and pharmaceutical factories remains to be seen. But by placing health sovereignty at the centre of the continental agenda, Nigeria has reinforced a vital truth: in the hierarchy of national priorities, protecting human life must always come first.
