1. The fifth EChapel COVID-19 Webinar starting at 5pm on Friday May 15, titled: The State of States: Present & Future, discusses the present response, the near-term obstacles, and the potential future outcomes Nigeria’s state governments are facing given the global COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Nigeria’s fiscal space. Many states must now make trade-offs between immediate benefits which improve population health and long-term benefits which encourage economic prosperity. This discussion will shed light on how state governments are (a) planning in the face of uncertaintyand (b) communicating future expectations to the general public.
2. Over the past 3 months, the world has experienced an economic shock with far-reaching social implications on a level that has never been seen before in living memory. For Nigeria, the COVID-19 pandemic is further compounding an already precarious situation in which the country must increase government expenditure in the midst of declining commodity prices, reduced net exports, and minimal consumption. As of Tuesday, May 5, 2020, the Federal Government made a downward revision of GDP from an expected growth of 2.4 percent to a contraction of 3.4 percent.
3. We have seen varying degrees and types of responses from States across the country and some begin to ask questions as to why in this time of anguish and universality of pain and fear there is no greater co-ordination in real terms and beyond communiques amongst States and between them and the Federal Government. From States that more or less had no lock down, to States that have tight lockdowns, the only agreement is as to ban interstate travel. The debate continues as to whether easing of lock down should be dependent solely on data, science and evidence, (as said by the British Prime Minister on Sunday May 10), or political expediency as against economic viability – issues tackled in part in our 3rd Webinar Series on Life and Livelihood.
4. It is against this background that one should consider the April 2020 analysis by Deloitte which provided a timeline for COVID-19 government responses. It showed that in the first 4 – 6 months, governments are meant to respond, to act with maximum speed and flexibility in order to promote safety and continuity. This is followed by 4 – 12 month period where they recover by moving with high speed and flexibility to move toward normalcy, and finally a thrive period in which they’ve developed a new level of flexibility and built long-term enhanced foundations for the future.
5. Residents want to know many things, including: what will happen if there is an exponential growth in the virus; how “palliatives” will reach the vulnerable; how hunger will not turn to anger on the streets; when will children return to school; what to do about students with no online access; and the seeming excessive or high handedness of some enforcers of COVID-19 Regulations. The objective of this discussion is to provide the audience with a structure for assessing the decisions that have been made surrounding COVID-19 response, the impact of those decisions on specific sectors or industries, and the potential future outcomes for individual workers, businesses, and everyday people across Nigeria.
6. This webinar Panel comprises:
· Dr. Kayode Fayemi, CON, 2nd term Governor of Ekiti State –Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, and former Minister of Mines and Steel Development .
· Mr. Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State –an internationally renowned expert in Investment Banking, Asset Management and Securities Trading.
· Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State – an accomplished public and private sector expert, and outstanding banker.
· Engineer Abdullahi Sule, Governor of Nasarawa State, the former Group Managing Director of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc., (the second largest Sugar Refinery in the world).
It is moderated by Dr. Chinny C. Ogunro, the Moderator – who holds a Ph.D. in Health Management (Technology and Operations Management, Strategy) from the Harvard Business School, a M.A. in Health Administration from Cornell University, and Bachelors degrees from Stanford University, was between 2011 – 2013, a consultant to the Federal Minister of State for Health. She is the Chief Executive Officer of WellSpring Health, a Nigeria-based integrated care consortium committed to delivering quality, affordable healthcare at scale. She also currently serves as Director of Health Research at the Center for the Study of the Economies of Africa, where her research has explored innovative business models for health care delivery in growth economies, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Her work in healthcare operations has delivered high-quality, low-cost healthcare to over 40,000 patients across West Africa and India. Chinny is a co-founder of Africa Health Holdings (AHH), a healthcare investment and operations company born out of her doctoral research and her first company, CarePoint Hospitals and Clinics. She was selected as a Young Global Leader and Dangote Fellow by the World Economic Forum in 2020. Her research has received over $700,000 in direct support from organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank. Chinny serves on the leadership committee of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Solve; she is an advisory board member of Growth Capital—the private equity fund arm of CCHub; a Steering Committee member of the Africa Leadership Academy’s Health Network; and is frequently a guest lecturer at top international business schools. She has previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Veralon Partners, and provided long-term consultancy for the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health as well as multiple other development and partner organizations.
7. We look forward to seeing you, and hope all your live questions will be answered and your concerns well addressed.
