Muhammad Ali Pate

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Muhammad Ali Pate
OON
Ali Pate Nigeria.jpg
Nigeria's Minister of Health and Social Welfare
Minister of Health and Social Welfare
Assumed office
21 August 2023
Occupation
  • Politician
  • physician

Mohammed Ali Pate or Muhammad Ali Pate CON (born 6 September, 1968) is a Nigerian physician and politician. He is American board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He was appointed as Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Nigeria in 2023. Before taking office, he was a professor of public health leadership in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard University. [1] [2] [3] He also served as the director of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) for women, children, and adolescents at the World Bank Group, [4] he worked in various roles across several regions for the World Bank Group beginning in 2000. [5]

Contents

Pate served as the Executive Director of Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency, [6] [7] and was later appointed as Nigeria's Minister of State for Health in July 2011. [8] He resigned on 24 July 2013 to take up a professorship at Duke University Global Health Institute. [9] [10] [11] [12] He later served as the Chief Executive Officer of Big Win Philanthropy and as the Global Director for Health, Nutrition, and Population. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Early life and education

The son of a Fulani herdsman, Pate was born on September 6, 1968 and was raised in the northern region of Misau. [6] After graduating from high school, he enrolled in Ahmadu Bello University in Kaduna State. After earning his medical degree, he moved to The Gambia and worked in rural hospitals. He later became a fellow in infectious diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center. [19]

Pate studied at University College London, [20] earning a master’s degree in Health System Management from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine [21] and an MBA with a Health Sector Concentration from Duke University.

Career

Before his appointment to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in 2008, he had a 10-year career at the World Bank, where he led health sector reform programs in Africa, East Asia, and other regions. [22] He held senior positions, such as Senior Health Specialist and Human Development Sector Coordinator for the East Asia/Pacific Region and Senior Health Specialist for the African Region. [23] He initiated a public-private partnership to replace a National Referral Hospital in Lesotho. [24]

In October 2022, Pate was conferred the title Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by then President Muhammadu Buhari, alongside 447 other Nigerians. [25] In February 2023, he became the CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization(GAVI). [26]

Minister of Health and Social Welfare

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him in August 2023 as Nigeria's Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare. He has introduced various initiatives aimed at improving the country’s healthcare system and social welfare programs. [27] With Nigeria’s population exceeding 220 million in 2023, his tenure has focused on addressing healthcare accessibility and social welfare challenges. [28] His approach targets issues such as poverty, illiteracy, and social well-being. [27]

He revitalized the National Health Insurance Authority of Nigeria, expanding its health insurance coverage and reducing healthcare expenses. [29] In 2023 and 2024, he oversaw the extension of basic healthcare provisions, distributing 45,900,000,000 naira to 8,800 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC), [30] expanding the malaria vaccine (RTSS) rollout, and improving immunization and maternal health programs in rural Nigerian PHCs. [31] Furthermore, he introduced solutions that improved maternal health across 172 local government areas of Nigeria, [32] community health engagement and social welfare integration, [33] and introduced primary healthcare sustainability through domestic financing and private-sector partnerships by mobilizing domestic resources. [34]

Recognitions and awards

Among several national and international accolades he has received for his contributions to the health sector in Nigeria, [35] [36] he was included in Time magazine's "100 Health 2025" list, where he was recognized for shaping Nigeria's healthcare system. [37]

Other details

In 2012, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program awarded him the title of Harvard Health Leader. [38] He holds the title of Chigari (or Knight) in Misau.

Recent publications

Book chapters and technical reports

References

  1. "Muhammad Ali Pate". The Brookings Institution. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  2. "Muhammad Ali Pate". Management Sciences for Health.
  3. "Former Health Nutrition and Population Global Director, Muhammad Ali Pate". World Bank. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  4. "Nigeria: World Bank Appoints Prof Pate Global Director". Daily Trust. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  5. "Former Health Nutrition and Population Global Director, Muhammad Ali Pate". World Bank. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  6. 1 2 Dugger, Celia W. (12 April 2010). "A Campaign Shows Signs of Progress Against Polio". The New York Times . p. 4.
  7. Getting the "Last Hair" in Nigeria – Muhammad Pate | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Archived 24 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Dr. Pate Assumes Duty, Promises Efficient Service Delivery" . Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  9. "Programs | Johns Hopkins". publichealth.jhu.edu. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  10. "Ali Pate, Minister of State, Health, Resigns". Daily Times . Archived from the original on 28 September 2013.
  11. "Muhammad Ali Pate". africa.harvard.edu. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  12. "Muhammad Pate, Former Minister of State for Health of Nigeria". Voices in Leadership. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  13. "Search | Britannica". britannica.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  14. "Muhammad Ali Pate". Management Sciences for Health. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  15. "The facts speak for themselves on Jonathan's administration by Reno Omokri". Vanguard . 24 February 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  16. "Muhammad Ali Pate | Global Director, Health, Nutrition and Population | Director, Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF)". blogs.worldbank.org. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  17. Stephen, John (19 August 2023). "Meet Muhammad Ali Pate, Nigeria Health Minister". Health Telescope. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  18. "Muhammed Pate, Minister of State resigns". Vanguard. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  19. "Muhammad A. Pate". The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  20. "Duke Fuqua Insights | Duke's Fuqua School of Business".
  21. "Former Health Nutrition and Population Global Director, Muhammad Ali Pate".
  22. "Muhammad A. Pate". The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  23. "Ali Pate gets World Bank, Harvard University appointments". Financial Nigeria International Limited. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  24. Yahaya, Ibrahim Muye (10 September 2020). "Muhammad Ali Pate: Global public servant @ 52". Blueprint Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  25. "Full List: 2022 National Honours Award Recipients". The Nation .
  26. "Muhammad Ali Pate, un Nigérian pour diriger l'Alliance du vaccin" [Muhammad Ali Pate, a Nigerian to lead the Vaccine Alliance]. Africanews (in French). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  27. 1 2 Samuel, Edward (4 November 2024). "National Health Leaders Commit To Unified Health Sector". Voice of Nigeria. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  28. Abujah, Rachael (27 December 2024). "We are Revolutionizing Nigeria's Healthcare". Science Nigeria. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  29. "NAUTH CMD lauds Tinubu, Prof Ali Pate's interventions in Nigeria's health sector". Vanguard Media Limited. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  30. Obokoh, Anthonia (4 January 2025). "Nigeria's healthcare sector in 2024: Key milestones, innovations, and policy shifts". Nairametrics. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  31. {{cite web|date=2024-12-14|title=Nigeria accounts for 46% of malaria deaths – WHO|url=https://punchng.com/nigeria-accounts-for-46-of-malaria-deaths-who/%7Caccess-date=2025-03-07%7Cwebsite=Punch Nigeria|language=en}
  32. "Gates, Pate and Securing Public Health". Thisdaylive. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  33. Abujah, Rachael (1 November 2024). "FG,HSRC To Drive Accountability, Equity In Health Sector Reform" . Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  34. "Over 10m Nigerians accessing care under basic health care provision fund". Dailytrust. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  35. Adebayo, Toyin (18 December 2024). "Health Ministry Clinches Top Awards, Prof Pate Dedicates Win To Nigerians, President Tinubu". Independent Newspaper. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  36. Patricia Arawore, ed. (24 April 2024). "Professor Muhammad Ali Pate Recieves [sic] HLF Role Model Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Medicine". Hallmarks of Labour Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  37. Fuchs, Matts (8 May 2025). "Time100 Health 2025". Time Magazine. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  38. "World Bank appoints Nigeria's ex-minister, Muhammad Pate, as global director for health". TheCable . 16 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.

Lancet Global Health Commission profile: https://www.hqsscommission.org/people/muhammad-a-pate/