Chairman of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM)-Nigeria of the Global Fund and Minister of Health, Prof. C.O Onyebuchi Chukwu said CCM Nigeria will ensure that the Global Fund grants to Nigeria are efficiently and effectively managed to provide healthcare services to its citizenry.
Speaking at its 37th General Meeting Held on Tuesday when its first and second vice election was held the minister said the Global Fund is undergoing reforms presently with donors paying more emphasis to value for money and systems strengthening.
In ensuring that the GF grants in Nigeria provide that value, the CCM Nigeria will not compromise its role of providing oversight and guidance to all the Principal Recipients (PRs), Sub Recipients (SRs) and implementing agencies of the Global Fund grants to ensure they deliver quality healthcare services to the people.
The CCM Nigeria Chairman reiterated the need for all those implementing the Global Fund grants to brace-up to the reality and challenge of managing the grants in order to complement other donors and all tiers of government in Nigeria effort.
Reminding the CCM Nigeria members and all the GF grant implementers that Nigeria is no more classified as poor country by the global community but a lower-lower-middle income country with severe burden of malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, he said there is therefore the need to ensure synergy with other implementers to avoid wastages and double funding with a view to optimizing the use of resources.
A statement by Emmanuel Abi Couson ,media and communication officer CCM Nigeria said the election supervised by the Country Director of UNAIDS, DR. Kwame Ampomah saw Dr. Dauda Suleman elected as the 1st Vice Chair with Dr. Mrs Ezinwa Uzuegbunam as the 2nd Vice Chair.
Both have the responsibility to perform tasks delegated by the chair in his absence and to preside at all meetings in which the Chair is empowered to do so while actively participating in the Executive Committee of CCM Nigeria meetings.
The CCM Nigeria is a national multi-sectoral body established in 2002 to coordinate and facilitate the Global Fund activities to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Programmes in Nigeria. It was established under the concept of Public-Private Partnership aimed at attracting, managing and leveraging additional resources that will make a sustainable and significant contribution to the reduction of infections illnesses and death from the three diseases towards achieving the MDGs.