Muhammad Ali Pate’s enduring influence, By Chinedu Moghalu

Muhammad Ali Pate’s profession is outlined by his twin function as a builder of males and a mason of techniques. His strategic reforms in Nigeria laid the muse for lasting enhancements in healthcare supply, whereas his international management continues to affect well being insurance policies internationally. Pate’s determination to return to Nigeria quite than pursue a prestigious international place displays his unwavering dedication to his nation’s well being sector. Because the Quran reminds us, “Whoever saves one life, it’s as if he had saved mankind completely” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:32).

On sixth September, Muhammad Ali Pate marked one other milestone in his life — a birthday that might have been a time for private reflection and celebration. But, true to his nature, Pate selected to put aside the festivities as Borno State confronted devastating floods. With lives disrupted and communities in peril, his focus remained on an unwavering dedication to public service. Whereas many could have turned inward on such an event, Pate spent the week guaranteeing restoration efforts had been swift and efficient. His actions mirror his lifelong mission: creating sustainable techniques, empowering people, and guaranteeing communities can stand up to challenges. This essay traces Pate’s journey, showcasing his twin affect on folks and insurance policies.

Pate is extensively recognised for his uncommon capacity to construct each people and techniques, leaving an enduring imprint on well being sectors on the nationwide and international ranges. It’s been stated that “A tree doesn’t make a forest.” Pate by no means labored in isolation however at all times targeted on constructing folks and techniques that thrive collectively. As a builder of males, his mentorship has elevated quite a few well being professionals to key positions of authority. As a mason of techniques, his strategic reforms have reshaped Nigeria’s well being panorama and contributed to international well being developments. This essay traces Pate’s journey by these twin roles, highlighting his affect on each folks and insurance policies.

Pate’s nationwide management journey started along with his tenure as chief govt officer of the Nationwide Main Well being Care Growth Company (NPHCDA) from 2008 to 2011. He confronted a fragmented major healthcare system in Nigeria, the place insufficient administration constructions hampered service supply. True to the Nigerian proverb that claims, “He who thinks he’s main however has nobody following is simply taking a stroll,” Pate understood that for reforms to succeed, they needed to be systemic and well-coordinated. He launched the Main Well being Care Below One Roof (PHCUOR) coverage, centralising major healthcare administration on the state degree to make sure extra cohesive service supply. This coverage embodied his philosophy of inclusivity and collaboration — guaranteeing that reforms weren’t simply top-down, however they concerned native and state-level actors.

In rural Nigeria, the place entry to maternal healthcare was restricted, Pate launched the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) to handle essential gaps. MSS deployed midwives to underserved areas, reinforcing the assumption that “the well being of moms is the muse of the well being of countries.” This initiative did greater than present healthcare — it empowered girls to guide of their communities. True management, Pate believed, was about giving others the instruments to thrive — and maybe, on this case, it was about giving midwives the correct instruments to catch a brand new era of thriving leaders. The MSS additionally educated neighborhood well being employees (CHWs) to increase healthcare into rural areas. Greater than 4,000 midwives and over 1,000 CHWs had been deployed, providing important maternal and youngster well being companies in chronically underserved areas. Pate’s strategy wasn’t nearly fixing techniques; it was about nurturing the palms that will heal.

In 2011, Pate’s imaginative and prescient for nationwide well being reform took one other leap when he was appointed minister of state for Well being. One standout initiative of he’s was the Saving One Million Lives (SOML) programme, aimed toward enhancing maternal and youngster well being. Hundreds of years in the past, Socrates recommended, “the key of change is to focus your entire vitality not on combating the outdated, however on constructing the brand new.” SOML embraced this concept by introducing performance-based accountability measures and mobilising over $1 billion in financing from each private and non-private sectors. By tying monetary incentives to measurable well being outcomes, Pate not solely saved lives however constructed a system the place success was sustained by collective accountability. Like a physician encouraging sufferers to observe their well being, Pate inspired the well being system to verify its pulse and keep accountable.

Nevertheless it was Pate’s management within the struggle towards polio as chair of the Presidential Activity Drive on Polio Eradication that was deft and defining of his systemic strategy. Recognising that knowledge alone wouldn’t suffice, Pate engaged conventional and religion leaders to construct neighborhood belief and increase immunisation charges. By means of this multi-faceted strategy, Polio Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) had been arrange throughout Nigeria, the place real-time accountability and strategic partnerships helped fight outbreaks extra successfully. By leveraging the affect of neighborhood leaders, Pate ensured that vaccination campaigns reached distant areas that had beforehand resisted them. This collaborative strategy mirrored the knowledge of an historic adage, “an individual who rides two horses on the identical time will find yourself on the bottom.” Pate knew that targeted, community-driven, and data-informed choices had been key to defeating the problem of polio. His engagement with leaders in any respect ranges helped steer Nigeria towards polio eradication, which was formally declared in August 2020.

After leaving his ministerial function in 2013, Pate joined the World Financial institution as international director for Well being, Diet, and Inhabitants (HNP), the place he superior the strengthening of well being techniques throughout a number of areas. His focus was on integrating well being and diet into inhabitants well being reforms, whereas guaranteeing that international well being techniques had been resilient and never merely reactive to crises. As Pate scaled these reforms globally, he mentored a brand new era of well being professionals, fostering leaders who would carry ahead the teachings from these initiatives. His management wasn’t nearly implementing initiatives, it was about inserting succesful people in key positions to make sure that his imaginative and prescient outlived his direct involvement.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Pate’s experience was known as upon as soon as once more. As chief of the World Financial institution’s international well being response, he oversaw an $18 billion help bundle, serving to international locations navigate the disaster, whereas reinforcing long-term well being infrastructure. This era examined not solely emergency preparedness but additionally management in occasions of disaster. Pate’s capacity to scale options for pressing wants, whereas concurrently constructing resilient techniques able to withstanding future shocks, demonstrated his power as each a builder of males and a mason of techniques.

Pate additionally served as director of the World Financing Facility (GFF) for Girls, Youngsters, and Adolescents, the place he mobilised assets to help low- and middle-income international locations. Below his management, the GFF grew into a significant platform for enhancing maternal and youngster well being outcomes by sustainable partnerships between governments, personal donors, and improvement businesses. The GFF turned greater than a monetary mechanism — it was key to constructing robust, responsive well being techniques that might ship outcomes for weak populations.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Pate’s experience was known as upon as soon as once more. As chief of the World Financial institution’s international well being response, he oversaw an $18 billion help bundle, serving to international locations navigate the disaster, whereas reinforcing long-term well being infrastructure. This era examined not solely emergency preparedness but additionally management in occasions of disaster. Pate’s capacity to scale options for pressing wants, whereas concurrently constructing resilient techniques able to withstanding future shocks, demonstrated his power as each a builder of males and a mason of techniques.

In 2023, Pate as soon as once more confirmed his deep dedication to Nigeria by declining the celebrated function of CEO at GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, selecting as an alternative to return dwelling on the invitation of then newly-elected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Because the saying goes, “The River that forgets its supply will dry up,” and Pate’s determination mirrored his perception that his work in Nigeria was removed from over. As a part of programmes to understand the Renewed Hope Agenda, Pate rapidly launched an expansive initiative to reimagine Nigeria’s well being sector. He spearheaded the creation of the Nigeria Well being Sector Renewal Funding Initiative (NHSRII) by an intensive means of engagement and dialogue with residents and key stakeholders, setting the stage for overhauling well being governance, enhancing well being outcomes, and unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s well being sector by the Sector-Large Strategy (SWAp).

Extra than simply formulating daring concepts, Pate ensures they’re delivered to life with substantial commitments. Already, SWAp has attracted $1.13 billion in health-specific funding, together with contributions from the World Financial institution’s HOPE Mission, which focuses on enhancing the standard, utilisation, and resilience of Main Well being Care (PHC) companies. Moreover, the Primary Well being Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) has been resuscitated to raised contribute to delivering improved high quality healthcare service supply, significantly on the major healthcare degree. By means of the efforts of the Nationwide Main Well being Care Growth Company (NPHCDA), over 8,000 major healthcare centres (PHCs) throughout the nation have been revitalised. These PHCs are essential to offering important companies corresponding to maternal and youngster healthcare, immunisations, household planning, and diagnostics, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Moreover, the Nationwide Well being Insurance coverage Authority (NHIA) continues to develop medical insurance protection for weak populations, guaranteeing that extra Nigerians are financially protected when looking for care. This collaborative drive, aligned with the earlier presidential assertion on a broader $2.2 billion dedication below SWAp, evidences the continuing transformation of Nigeria’s well being system.

The creation and ongoing implementation of NHSRII embodies Pate’s expertise for constructing techniques that thrive on collaboration. The initiative was formalised by a Compact signed by the federal government, the folks, and improvement companions, symbolising a collective dedication to reworking Nigeria’s well being sector.

Past his direct management roles, Pate has championed public well being schooling. His affect extends into academia, the place he chairs the Muhammad Ali Pate Worldwide College of Public Well being, Ondo State, and serves because the inaugural chair of the Julio Frenk Professorship of Public Well being Management at Harvard. His dedication to schooling displays his broader perception that robust techniques have to be constructed on the muse of information and human capability. 

Pate’s work with the Chigari Basis, a non-governmental organisation targeted on neighborhood engagement and first healthcare mobilisation, additional highlights his grassroots management. “And cooperate in righteousness and piety…” says the Holy Quran in Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:2. This verse mirrors Pate’s strategy to constructing community-driven healthcare, the place cooperation and collective accountability are central to success. His capacity to mobilise native influencers and grassroots leaders has been key in guaranteeing the success of immunisation programmes and different well being interventions.

Certainly, “The footprints of the nice should not erased by the sands of time.” Pate’s enduring affect — each seen and unseen — will proceed to resonate lengthy after his energetic work, guaranteeing that the techniques he helped construct will thrive for generations to return. His affect isn’t merely within the establishments he reformed however within the folks he empowered, the techniques he constructed, and the lives he touched by his deep dedication to humanity.

Because the founding CEO of Huge Win Philanthropy, Pate led transformative efforts targeted on partnering with visionary African leaders to realize sustainable well being and human capital improvement throughout the continent. By means of Huge Win, he labored to handle the underlying components that impair mind improvement in kids, corresponding to undernutrition and inadequate care, serving to guarantee they attain their full potential. He additionally supported leaders in enhancing the standard and relevance of schooling to equip Africa’s rising youth inhabitants with the abilities wanted for a productive workforce. These initiatives mirrored Pate’s unwavering dedication to strengthening governance and fostering transformative management throughout Africa, finally contributing to the continent’s long-term improvement. 

This complemented his work with the Healthcare Management Academy and different mentorship initiatives, the place he nurtured a brand new era of well being professionals who proceed to affect insurance policies in Nigeria and globally. His function as co-chair of the World Agenda Council on Inhabitants Development on the World Financial Discussion board underscores his international affect on well being and improvement insurance policies.

Pate’s profession has not solely been about systemic modifications but additionally about guaranteeing these modifications reached the frontlines. The Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) and coaching of neighborhood well being employees (CHWs) ensured that underserved communities had entry to very important well being companies. MSS turned considered one of Africa’s largest well being workforce programmes, coaching and deploying midwives and CHWs to over 1,000 rural well being centres, bringing very important well being companies nearer to the folks. His advocacy for task-shifting insurance policies, which allowed CHWs to carry out essential well being interventions in rural areas, demonstrated his perception that sustainable well being techniques depend upon a well-trained and empowered workforce. The programme earned worldwide recognition for its governance and execution, together with accolades from the Commonwealth Affiliation for Public Administration and Administration (CAPAM).

Pate by no means leaves the techniques he builds to likelihood. His efforts in inserting certified professionals in management positions throughout nationwide and international establishments spotlight his dedication to making sure the sustainability of well being techniques. Because the Hausa proverb reminds us, “Even the most effective cooking pot is not going to produce meals,” emphasising the significance of succesful management in sustaining well-designed techniques. Pate knew that even essentially the most superior system wanted the correct folks stirring the pot.

Muhammad Ali Pate’s profession is outlined by his twin function as a builder of males and a mason of techniques. His strategic reforms in Nigeria laid the muse for lasting enhancements in healthcare supply, whereas his international management continues to affect well being insurance policies internationally. Pate’s determination to return to Nigeria quite than pursue a prestigious international place displays his unwavering dedication to his nation’s well being sector. Because the Quran reminds us, “Whoever saves one life, it’s as if he had saved mankind completely” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:32). Pate’s legacy, constructed on mentorship, system reform, and a dedication to saving lives, will proceed to form well being outcomes and encourage future generations of well being leaders.

Certainly, “The footprints of the nice should not erased by the sands of time.” Pate’s enduring affect — each seen and unseen — will proceed to resonate lengthy after his energetic work, guaranteeing that the techniques he helped construct will thrive for generations to return. His affect isn’t merely within the establishments he reformed however within the folks he empowered, the techniques he constructed, and the lives he touched by his deep dedication to humanity. And for this, we elevate a worthy birthday toast to this Khādim mutawāḍiʿ lilshaʿb and pray Allah’s manifold peace upon him.

Chinedu Moghalu, a lawyer and strategist in sustainable improvement, writes from Abuja.