News Investigators/ Aminu Magashi Garba, Coordinator of the Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN), has been elected as Secretary and member of the Board of Directors of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Consortium.
Jennyfer Ambe, Chair of the Board of Directors, said this in a statement made on Tuesday in Abuja.
Mrs Ambe said that Mr Magashi, a renowned health policy advocate based in Abuja, brings years of experience in public health financing, governance, and civil society engagement to the role.
She said that through his leadership at AHBN, he has been instrumental in advancing accountability mechanisms for health security across Africa.
“The GHSA Consortium is a voluntary coalition of non-governmental organisations committed to strengthening global capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.
“It works alongside governments, international agencies, and private-sector actors to implement key international health frameworks such as the International Health Regulations (IHR), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) PVS Pathway, and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention,” she said.
Reacting to the announcement, Mr Magashi expressed his readiness to deepen the participation of the Global South in shaping the global health security architecture.
“I look forward to advancing opportunities for capacity building and information sharing, while amplifying the voice of African civil society in international health security conversations,” he said.
Mr Magashi said under his leadership, AHBN co-organised Nigeria’s COVID-19 Conference in 2021 and has supported civil society organisations in eight African countries to implement a regional health security accountability framework.
He said that this has led to improved governance, transparency, and coordination in national health systems.
“AHBN is also affiliated with global advocacy and accountability networks including the Global Health Council, CORE Group, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH),” he said.
He stated that he also served on Nigeria’s Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) Technical Working Group on Health Security, thereby positioning him as a bridge between national and international health policy development.
NAN recalls that the GHSA Consortium comprises more than 70 countries and organisations united by a shared vision: a world safe from the threats of infectious diseases.
NAN
