August 29 2025 — Nigeria and Brazil have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with a renewed focus on health sector collaboration, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu embarked on a state visit to Brazil.
The Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako, who was part of the Nigerian delegation, revealed that the visit signified what President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described as “the restart of the Nigeria-Brazil relationship.”
During a series of high-level engagements between ministers and senior officials from both countries, discussions centred on advancing South-South cooperation through joint health initiatives.
As part of the talks, Nigeria proposed the creation of a Five-Year Joint Action Plan to give life to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in July between Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Brazil’s Ministry of Health. The plan is expected to drive structured collaboration in areas such as medical research, technology transfer, disease prevention, and healthcare delivery.
In addition, a strategic government-to-government procurement arrangement was suggested, aimed at strengthening the health systems of both countries by improving access to essential medical supplies, vaccines, and innovative health technologies.
The visit underlined the determination of both nations to leverage their longstanding ties and growing partnership to improve public health outcomes, while also consolidating their shared role as leaders in South-South cooperation.
