With the launch of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the international community has taken on an even more ambitious agenda to holistically address the unfinished agenda of the MDGs 4 and 5 and build the foundation for universal health coverage for all.

Despite a more complex and broad set of goals, health directly or indirectly underpins all 17 SDGs and is critical to promoting other favourable development outcomes, including economic growth.

The transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides a compelling opportunity for Nigeria to distil lessons from its MDGs experience, reshape its aspirations and engage the private sector through partnerships and innovative approaches with an overarching goal of having a robust and resilient health care system.

The current administration under the leadership of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari has outlined an ambitious “Universal Health Coverage Agenda for Change” to address the low-level health system equilibrium and scale up access to a basic minimum package of free quality healthcare services and commodities to at least 100 million Nigerians over the next two years through 10,000 revitalized Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs). The private sector is poised to play a critical role in enabling Nigeria achieve its UHC goal.