STRENGTHS OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM Strong political will and support The support that the Federal Ministry of Health enjoys since the beginning of this administration has been unprecedented. At the Federal Level for the first time, Mr. President rallied and got all State governors and the Honourable Minister of FCTA to sign a Declaration to improve health outcomes in Nigeria; he also launched the National Strategic health Development Plan and approved it as the compass for health development in Nigeria including the NV20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda. Partners/Donor Support In Nigeria, the health sector is the one in which the highest proportion of international agencies are active. They comprise the multilaterals such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, UNFPA, UNAIDS, World Bank, African Development Bank; the bilateral which include DFID, USAID, CIDA, JICA, NGOs including Bill and Belinda Gates Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Packard Foundation etc. These international agencies strongly cooperate with the government and provide significant technical and financial resources in the sector. It is estimated that they provide about 4% of health expenditure in the health sector. The highlight of collaboration between government and the development partners was evidenced with the 80