WHO Hails UK’s £2m Pledge to Strengthen Health Workforce in Nigeria

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has applauded a new funding commitment made by the United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care to support Nigeria in strengthening her health workforce in the vision of achieving Universal Health Coverage

The grant amounting to £2 million would cover two-year period to support the government of Nigeria to optimise the performance, quality, and impact of the health workforce through evidence-informed policies and strategies.

According to a statement by WHO’s Office in Nigeria, the UK provided a multi-million-pound boost to support healthcare staff recruitment and retention in three African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana – supporting resilience against global health challenges.

“Nigerian health system like many countries in the global south has been beset with challenges in having a resilient health system that is able to provide quality health services, promote health and prevent diseases,” it stated.

WHO said the challenges have been further exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic which directly impacts the availability of health workers to provide quality services across the country.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery stated: “A skilled, well-motivated and adequate health workforce is critical for Nigeria to end preventable deaths and build resilience against global threats.

“This UK International Development funding aligns with the Nigerian health workforce strategic plan and will help the country upskill its workers, and improve health outcomes in the long run.”

The two-year HRH project aims to support the government at national and sub-national levels and support regulatory bodies, professional associations, and other key stakeholders to develop transformative strategies for scaling up the quantity and quality of health workers, including competency-based curricula development and reviews.

It would help to align investment in HRH with the current and future needs of the population and health systems; strengthen the capacity of institutions including regulatory bodies for effective public policy stewardship, leadership and governance, optimise health workers’ retention, equitable distribution, and performance and strengthen the management of health workforce data for monitoring and accountability.

The project would implement interventions in Nigeria.

The project would draw on the technical capacity of WHO to strengthen health systems including experience of implementing similar projects with appreciable results in the past. Implementation at sub-national levels with a focus on six states of Cross River, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos, would build on the presence and technical support being provided to State governments through the 37 WHO sub-national offices in Nigeria.

“The strength of every health system reflects the capacity and adequacy of its health workforce, which are necessary to deliver quality services to address population health needs,” WHO’s Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo said.

For a resilient and effective health system, Nigeria must have adequate numbers of health workers who are fit for purpose, motivated to perform, and equitably distributed across the subnational levels to enhance equity in access to their services by the population in need.

“Through the UK government’s generous support through WHO, we will deploy the technical support from the 3 levels of the organisation to support the development of evidence-based policies and strategies, capacity building and management for improved planning and management of Nigeria’s health workforce,” he added.