The 2018 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are taking place in Washington DC this week, alongside the Civil Society Policy Forum, which provides a platform for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to engage in dialogue and exchange views with World Bank Group and IMF staff, their peers, government delegations, and other stakeholders on a wide range of topics.

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, having been invited by the World Bank to attend high-level panel events, including a discussion on “Managing Demographic Transition to Maximize Human Capital and Economic Growth,” on 19th April, will urge all stakeholders to place global health reform at the top of their agendas.

Mrs Saraki commented: “As we experience significant demographic changes, I welcome the discussion of how our countries can adapt to ensure wellbeing and health for all.”

 “The World Bank Group has rightly identified that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is key to achieving its twin goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing equity and shared prosperity. For that reason, UHC is the key factor behind all of the WBG’s investments in health and nutrition.”

“The Wellbeing Foundation Africa's participation at these Spring Meetings will help us ensure a better worldwide understanding and commitment to UHC. The only way to deliver a demographic dividend in developing countries and around the world is to strengthen primary health frontlines. That is where the battles for lives are won and lost.”

Mrs Saraki is Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), Special Adviser to the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), and Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). As Wife of Nigeria's Senate President, and in recognition of her longstanding high-level global health advocacy, Mrs Saraki is also Chair of Nigeria’s Primary Health Care Revitalisation Support Group, which is co-chaired by House of Representatives members Hon Chike Okafor and Hon Mohammed Usman.