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President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of heads of five strategic health institutions in the country.
This was disclosed by Personal Assistant to he President on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, in a statement.
The institutions and their new heads are:
Centre for Disease Control (CDC) – Dr Chikwe Andreas Ihekweazu
National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) – Dr Sani Aliyu
Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) – Prof Babatunde Salami
National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) – Prof Echezona Ezeanolue
National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) – Prof Usman Yusuf
All the five appointments have already taken effect, Ahmad said.
The statement added:
1. The head of the CDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, was the managing partner at EpiAfric, a public health consultancy firm that focuses on Africa.
2. The head of the NACA, Dr Sani Aliyu was a consultant in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Cambridge University, UK.
3. The head of the NIMR, Prof. Babatunde Salako was the Provost, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan before his new appointment.
4. The head of the NPHCDA, Echezona Ezeanolue was a professor of Paediatrics and Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.
5. The head of the NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf, was a professor of Paediatrics at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.