Nigeria and the European Union have signed a cooperation agreement to allocate €18 million to strengthen research and development capabilities to carry out Nigeria’s national plan for the pharmaceutical industry and domestic manufacture of medical technology and vaccines. Ms. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, the Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, and Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, jointly signed the agreement at the EU Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education in Brussels on Thursday. The new partnership demonstrates the EU’s steadfast dedication to health and education equity.
Commissioner Urpilainen states, “Investing in strengthening education and health systems worldwide is an integral part of the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy. Economic growth is dependent on an educated, skilled workforce and healthy societies.” Our investments in high-quality training, research, and education aim to empower future generations by giving them the know-how, abilities, and competences they need to confront global issues and create prosperity in a changing world.
The European funding signed on Thursday under the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines, and Health Technologies in Africa (MAV+) will help Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector in many ways.
These include:
• training and education to improve skills;
• research and development (for example, research in artificial intelligence and nanotechnology);
• digitizing key parts of the ecosystem;
• a central system for planning, buying, and distributing high-quality medical products;
• making trade, investment, and customs easier; and
• protecting intellectual property rights.
Under the flagship Youth Mobility for Africa program, Commissioner Urpilainen also signed 15 Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme projects, each of which received €27 million in funding from the EU. To improve advanced green and digital skills, the initiatives will provide learning mobility opportunities to workers, trainees, and students throughout the continent. Six initiatives will be beneficial to Nigeria:
• CB4EE, or Capacity Building for Engineering Education Practice and Research (a total of €1.8 million in EU financing; the University of Lagos-Unilag is a participant).
• CREATE-Green Africa: Using Climate Research and Education to Promote Green Development in Africa (a project with the University of Port-Harcourt and €1.8 million in EU funding)
• Ebonyi State University manages the GENES II: Mobility for Plant Genomics Scholars to Accelerate Climate-Smart Adaptation Options and Food Security in Africa II program, which received a total of €1.8 million in EU funding.
• GREEN STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics for Africa: A Green, Resilient, and Entrepreneurial Initiative (a total of €1.8 million in EU financing, with the University of Lagos-Unilag as a partner)
The Federal University of Technology and the University of Nigeria lead the EU financing initiative HCE Solutions, which aims to promote inclusive homegrown clean energy solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Africa. A total of €1.8 million is involved in this project.
• ORPHAN:
Mobility for Highly Qualified Scientists and Entrepreneurs on Orphan Crops in Higher Education for Enhanced Climate Change Solutions in Africa (incorporating Ebonyi State University and totaling €1.8 million in EU funding) Commissioner Urpilainen also introduced the Africa-Europe Youth Academy, a major project of the Youth Action Plan in EU external relations. It will give young people hoping to develop their leadership abilities and forge connections between Europe and Africa the chance to learn and interact in formal and informal settings. Last but not least, Nigeria stands to gain from the recently launched regional Team Europe Initiative on Opportunity-driven Skills and Vocational Education and Training in Africa. This initiative will focus national vocational training programs on actual job opportunities made possible by Global Gateway investments.
Context
In order to increase access to high-quality, safe, effective, and reasonably priced health products, the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines, and Health Technologies in Africa (MAV+) collaborates with African partners to enhance their pharmaceutical systems and manufacturing capacity. It offers a 360-degree approach from the supply side to the demand side, the enabling environment, and six work streams.
1. The private sector, supply chains, and industrial development
2. Demand creation, trade facilitation, and market shaping
3. Tightening regulations
4. Technology transfer and intellectual property management
5. Financial accessibility
6. R&D, advanced training, and competencies
Increasing human potential, opening avenues for girls, youth, and marginalized groups, and serving as a platform for interpersonal relationships, discourse, and democratic values, education is a valuable tool for combating inequality and poverty. Education is a key component of the EU’s Global Gateway program for partner nations, as it fosters an atmosphere that makes investments in digital and green transitions successful.
Globally, the European Union is the largest investor in education. More than half of all global official development aid for education comes from EU institutions and member states. For 2021–2027, the EU promised to allocate at least 10% of its budget for international partnerships to education.
The European Union has committed roughly €3 billion, or 13% of the budget, for the years 2021–2023.
