WHO, Norway Deepen Alliance to Fix Nigeria’s Health Gaps

..... As WHO reaffirms its continued support to Nigeria through joint initiatives with partners, including Norway, to strengthen primary health care systems, expand digital health infrastructure, and enhance real-time disease monitoring. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Government of Norway have renewed their strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s health system, with a focus on delivering measurable outcomes in primary health care, disease surveillance, and immunisation.

WHO Country Representative, Dr Pavel Ursu, held talks with Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera, in Abuja to advance collaboration toward building a more resilient health system and improving health outcomes nationwide.

The meeting underscored a shared commitment to accelerate progress towards Nigeria’s national health targets by aligning efforts in health security, real-time surveillance, and primary health care delivery. Both parties emphasised the need to translate partnerships into tangible, on-the-ground results.

WHO reaffirmed its continued support to Nigeria through joint initiatives with partners, including Norway, to strengthen primary health care systems, expand digital health infrastructure, and enhance real-time disease monitoring. Central to this effort is the scale-up of the District Health Information System (DHIS2), with technical backing from the HISP Centre at the University of Oslo, which is helping to improve national data systems and support evidence-based decision-making.

Despite ongoing interventions, immunisation coverage in Nigeria remains below the global benchmark of 90 per cent. Stakeholders are ramping up efforts to reach so-called “zero-dose” children, improve routine immunisation services, and address longstanding equity gaps in access to vaccines.

The fight against variant poliovirus also featured prominently in discussions, with both sides stressing the importance of robust disease surveillance systems and a well-trained frontline workforce. WHO continues to support capacity building, data integration, and advocacy for increased domestic investment in health, complemented by contributions from international partners.

The renewed collaboration highlights the critical role of coordinated partnerships, stronger health systems, and reliable data in accelerating progress and delivering improved health outcomes for Nigerians.