Project Syndicate: Nigeria Beyond Ebola
Akwe Amosu, regional director for Africa at the Open Society Foundations, and Muhammed Mustapha Lecky, executive secretary at the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) and coordinator of the Nigerian Health Sector Reform Coalition

“When the World Health Organization declared that Nigeria had successfully eradicated the Ebola virus within its borders, there was loud global applause. Amid the cheers, however, few noticed a potentially even greater health milestone for Africa’s most populous country: the enactment of a new National Health Bill, which now awaits President Goodluck Jonathan’s signature. If the bill is signed into law, it could transform Nigeria’s health care system, providing a model for other West African countries seeking to learn the lessons of the Ebola epidemic and provide health care to all of their citizens. … The deadline to sign the bill is fast approaching. Jonathan has an enormous opportunity to show that Nigeria will go beyond its battle against Ebola and transform health care for the entire country…” (12/2).