New heads for health agencies

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of heads of five strategic health institutions in the country: the Centre for Disease Control, National Agency for the Control of Aids, the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research, National Primary Health Care Development Agency and National Health Insurance Scheme.
To head the Centre for Disease Control is Dr Chikwe Andreas Ihekweazu, who until his appointment, was the managing partner at EpiAfric, a public health consultancy firm that focuses on Africa.
Dr Sani Aliyu, a consultant in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Cambridge University, UK steps in as the new Director General of National Agency for the Control of Aids.
The president also approved Prof. Babatunde Salako as the head of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research. He was the Provost, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan before his new appointment.
Prof. Echezona Ezeanolue is to hold sway at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency. He was a professor of Paediatrics and Public Health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.
The National Health Insurance Scheme will now be headed by Prof. Usman Yusuf, who until his appointment, was a professor of Paediatrics at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
All appointments, according to Presidency sources have taken effect.