We Need Science-driven Health Reforms, Not Faith-based Policies — Minister

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has said that Nigeria cannot continue to rely on assumptions or belief-based approaches in health policymaking, insisting that only science-driven and evidence-based reforms can address the nation’s health challenges.

The minister, who stated this on Monday at the SPARK Translational Research Boot Camp and Conference in Abuja, called for deliberate investments in research, technology and local health innovation.

“We are still a long way from where we should be, but I think we’re making steady progress over the last two and a half years, and I believe that the mindset of scientific inquiry, gaining evidence and using that evidence to improve the policies and programmes is the way to go, because with that evidence, what I say is that we’re doing faith-based policies and programmes, and so we’ve shifted to less faith-based to more evidence-based,” he said.

Pate said scientific inquiry remains central to the progress of human civilisation, noting that many global advancements in health, life expectancy and disease control were made possible through rigorous research.

The minister described the world as being in a “poly-crisis” from pandemics to economic shocks, technology disruptions and political instability, many of which have direct implications for health systems.

Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Pate said that its effects are still evident in global supply chains, manufacturing, politics and national budgets.

He also highlighted several major transitions shaping Nigeria’s future, including demographic pressures, a shift from infectious to non-communicable diseases, rapid technological changes, and growing anti-science sentiment driven by misinformation.

Despite being home to 1.4 billion people, Pate lamented that Africa contributes “less than 1–2 per cent” of global research spending and still relies heavily on foreign institutions for scientific breakthroughs.

He applauded Stanford University, local partners, and Nigerian institutions for establishing the SPARK initiative in Nigeria, calling it a step toward building a strong scientific ecosystem that can support clinical trials, drug discovery and local manufacturing.

The Director-General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Dr. Obi Adigwe, said the partnership with Stanford aims to build the kind of intellectual engine that powers global innovation hubs.

He said Africa can no longer outsource its scientific needs to other continents.

“We proved during COVID that relying on foreign manufacturing is not sustainable. Africa has the intellectual capital and biodiversity to solve its own problems. We must stop waiting for outsiders to come and do it for us,” Adigwe said.

Adigwe also called on wealthy Nigerians and philanthropists to emulate global best practices by endowing research funds for diseases such as diabetes, cancer and sickle cell.

Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, said Nigeria aimed to become Africa’s hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing and essential health products.

He announced that the government will launch Africa’s first Manufacturing Academy this week, designed to build local capacity in industrial and pharmaceutical production.

Mukhtar emphasised innovation, impact, ecosystem-building and collaboration as critical ingredients for translating scientific discoveries into real-world solutions.

Representing Stanford University, Prof. Kevin Grimes praised the quality of African researchers, saying they often achieve remarkable results despite limited resources.

Grimes said many academic discoveries around the world never progress beyond journal publications, and the SPARK program aims to close that gap by strengthening translational research.