The D-8 Health and Social Protection Programme Inaugural Meeting was held in Abuja, Nigeria from 19th-20th June, 2019. It was attended by delegates and health officials from the eight Member States of the Organization as well as representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank’s Global Health, Nutrition, Population and Financing Facility, International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) of John Hopkins University, Health System Development Fund (HSDF), Health Services Management Centre, Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), JAIZ Bank and Zenith Bank. There was also the presence of independent consultants and health experts and economists from across the world. The D-8 Secretary-General was represented at the meeting by the Director, Administrative, Legal and Internal Issues, Mr. Nasir Aminu. The meeting was declared open by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdulaziz Mashi
The programme aims at enhancing economic cooperation amongst D-8 Member States through the incorporation of Health and Social Protection into their plans.
The meeting was a critical step towards the take-off of the D-8 Health and Social Protection Programme as a model global health coordination platform. It succeeded in mobilizing Member States’ commitment to the programme and the need for them to align their health policies to it. The meeting elaborated on the objectives of the programme and highlighted on the best practices of the Member States that can be replicated by others.
It also reviewed and refined the operational scope of the programme and finalized the critical levers of its agenda that is linked to the broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework. Furthermore, it identified barriers to progress and enablers of success and built consensus around opportunities for synergies. Members also deliberated on the benefits that will accrue in terms of volumes of health trade, lucrative investment opportunities, economic growth and development and poverty alleviation.
Recommendations were also made regarding the programme of work for the Secretariat which include details of the fiduciary mechanism and procurement procedures
It was the conclusion of the meeting that Health is a key economic stimulant and in order to attain sustainable growth and development heading into the next decade, Health and Social Protection are critical.
It is envisaged that the effective implementation of the D-8 Health and Social Protection Programme will bring about huge economic benefits running into billions of dollars and place the D-8 Member States on a clear path to the attainment of SDGs goals before the target date of 2030.