Nigeria is transitioning from climate-health policy to action by leveraging its Sector-Wide Approach to build resilient health systems and integrate climate-smart technologies. Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, SWAp’s national coordinator, said this in an interview on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Umar-Sadiq noted that the SWAp initiative aims to align national, state, and partner efforts (“one plan, one budget, one report”) to end fragmented health planning and improve climate responsiveness.

“The initiative is to address systemic challenges such as weak governance and inefficient financing,” he said.

He explained that key institutions, including the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, National Health Insurance Authority, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, are aligning their efforts to ensure climate resilience cuts across service delivery, financing, regulation, and health security.

He noted that the HOPE Primary Health Care Programme was central to the transition, providing a structured framework for mainstreaming climate action through clearly defined performance indicators.

“From infrastructure and service delivery to financing and health security, Nigeria is institutionalising climate resilience as a measurable and accountable reform agenda,” he said.

He added that attention was also being directed at strengthening the future of medical supply chains through local innovation and cross-sector collaboration.

He said this included partnerships with organisations such as Unitaid and relevant government bodies to review product portfolios and develop financing strategies for climate-resilient health technologies.

The coordinator further said that under the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, climate resilience had been established as a core pillar of ongoing health sector reforms.

According to him, this is already translating into system-level changes, including climate-smart health facility designs, solar-powered infrastructure, and improved water, sanitation, and hygiene systems.

“As primary healthcare revitalisation accelerates and services expand across all 774 local government areas, these changes will become increasingly visible at the community level,” he said.

He emphasised that Nigeria was not only planning for climate resilience but actively building it into the fabric of its health system through a coordinated ‘One Sector’ approach.

He added that the SWAp Coordination Office would continue to ensure that these efforts remain integrated and aligned towards improving health outcomes for Nigerians.

(NAN)