Al Jazeera: Nigeria’s fight against ill-health and malnutrition
Toyin Saraki, founder president of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa

“…Nigeria has proved that through a concerted and coordinated effort, disasters can be averted. The horrendous Ebola outbreak that caused such devastation throughout Nigeria’s West African neighbors was successfully contained in Nigeria. This is in no small part due to government planning and structures. Equally, there is a precedent for state and non-state collaboration. … If we can replicate such coordination we can stop the risk of famine in Nigeria; it is not simply an issue of money. It is time to have a frank conversation about how to put the necessary structures and standards in place to ensure ill-health and malnutrition are addressed, before they become endemic … Many countries in Africa have adequate foreign aid and adequate policy initiatives but the process falls apart once implementation begins. This is at least understandable for some states but for Nigeria — considering the stage it is at and its development journey — the country should be doing better. It has to do better” (9/7).