Aisha Buhari with Mrs. Koroma, First Lady of Sierra Leone,Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has joined President Muhammadu Buhari in London, United Kingdom, where he’s been treating himself since May 7, her office said in a statement on Wednesday.
She’s expected to be with President Buhari for some days or weeks, even as Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, presides over the affairs of a nation in crisis.
BUHARI IN LONDON
It is the second time President Buhari had gone to treat himself in London this year. He first spent 50 days there between January 19 and March 10, and warned upon arrival that he might need to travel back for more tests and treatment.
Some prominent Nigerians have called for his resignation, including the governor of Ekiti state who said the President is dying and had been on life support since June 6.
The ruling party denied the claim, saying the President who has not been seen in public, was recovering well.
Reports had said that the president’s health had seriously deteriorated in recent weeks.
MRS BUHARI IN ETHIOPIA
Before travelling to London, Mrs. Buhari called on African governments to tackle health challenges together.
She was speaking at the 19th General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) on Tuesday 4 July, 2017 at the African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Aisha Buhari at the head of Nigerian delegation at OAFLA, with her are Dr. Hajo Sani, SSA to the President, Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha, Dr. Zainab S. Bagudu and Mrs. Mairo Tanko Almakura, wives of Governors of Imo, Kebbi and Nasarawa states. At back row is Dr. Kamal Mohammed, National Coordinator Future Assured, Mrs. Maryam Hadi – a health practitioner, and Mrs. Beatrice Bassey, Executive Secretary, African First Ladies Peace Mission.
Aisha Buhari with Mrs. Koroma, First Lady of Sierra Leone,
Aisha Buhari sharing with Dr. Kamal Mohammed, National Coordinator, Future Assured
In a group photograph with other First Ladies at the event.
According to the Nigerian First Lady, due to the enormity of negative health outcomes, governments of individual countries cannot effectively tackle these challenges.
“With the emerging diseases and health related humanitarian emergencies of the 21st Century, the need to complement government efforts towards achieving Universal Health Coverage provides more than enough justification for greater involvement of the private sector in both delivery and financing of health care services,” she said, according to a statement by her spokesman Suleiman Haruna.
She raised key areas of intervention by spouses of Presidents in this area to include advocacy for the review of obnoxious policies.
They should also raise awareness on important areas of intervention and encourage investment on women, which has the dual impact of positive health outcomes and economic empowerment for self-reliance.
Newly-elected President of OAFLA and Wife of the President of Ethiopia, Mrs. Roman Tesfaye, in her welcome address said that harnessing the demographic dividend of Africa is crucial for economic transformation and that to realize this, consolidating and scaling up best practices within a country and across the nations in Africa is mandatory.
Mrs. Buhari had narrated her experience through Future Assured, which she encouraged other members to emulate in their countries due to its impact.
In a communique which was read by Mrs. Aisha Buhari, members of OAFLA expressed their commitment to work in close collaboration with private sector partners in order to secure financial and technical support to implement programmes targeting African adolescents.
“Mrs. Buhari has since left Addis Ababa to the United Kingdom,” her office said in a statement.