After 2 years, building NCDC is work in progress
“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” – Barack Obama These words from former US President, President Barack Obama have inspired me since I became the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on the 15th of August […]
“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” – Barack Obama
These words from former US President, President Barack Obama have inspired me since I became the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on the 15th of August 2016. This week marked the two-year mark of this journey- a journey that has been an interesting learning curve and provided a prism into all that makes Nigeria a great country, and all that is holding it back from greatness.
In writing this article and thinking about what to share this week, I went back to the article I wrote exactly a year ago-
In that piece, I shared our top ten priorities for the year that has just gone by and there is no better way to review our progress other than reviewing where we were, where we are, and where we want to be.
At this time last year, we were only restarting the process for the passage of the Bill establishing NCDC. Our young parastatal has existed for about seven years, albeit without full legislative backing. Today, the Bill has been passed by the Upper and Lower chambers of the National Assembly, awaiting Presidential assent. The political commitment from the Executive and Legislative arms of Government shows a recognition of the importance of the work we do- one I am extremely grateful for. The final passage of the Bill will provide us with a stronger backing to protect the health of all Nigerians.
