Co-chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates, has urged the Federal Government to improve investments in equitable solutions and in the people who are working on them.
He spoke during the Pan-African Youth Innovation Forum, yesterday, in Lagos, as part of activities for his visit to Nigeria.
The Forum had as theme: “Advancing Africa: Unleashing the power of youth in science and innovation.”
Gates said Nigeria was full of talented people with a lot of potential, but noted that it could be hard to fulfill that potential if they don’t have access to the most basic building blocks of life.
It may not surprise you that Nigeria’s states and federal government only spend the equivalent of $10 on health per person each year, compared to $31 in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Leaders need to make much bigger financial commitment, focused most of all on improving primary health systems. Making sure clinics are well-staffed and supplied, making sure children get the vaccines they need—all of this is absolutely essential to improving health and opportunity and unlocking all of Nigeria’s potential,” he said.
Gates said he would speak with the government about increasing commitments to agriculture and digital financial systems.
He said Nigerian youths have shown how passionate they are about progress, but they need to encourage their leaders to follow through on these commitments.
“The last time I visited Nigeria in 2018, I spoke to government leaders about your country’s potential for growth. This time, I wanted to speak also with you: Nigeria’s next generation of innovators.
“Ever since I was a teenager, writing computer code on a terminal at my high school, and later at Microsoft, I have loved the feeling of innovating to make something a little better for people—or a lot better. I’m sure you know this feeling too. There’s going to be a lot of opportunity for you to continue to make a difference in the world, because of the unprecedented potential of new technologies.
