National Hospital Signs MoU With Private Institutions on Manpower Development 

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja 

The federal government has facilitated the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the National Hospital and four private institutions to enhance capacity of healthcare workforce.

These institutions are the Nile University, Cosmopolitan University, Yangongwo College of Nursing Sciences and, Concerned Medix Foundation, all based in Abuja 

A statement signed by the Deputy Director Information and Public Relations, Alaba Balogun, said the initiative was part of federal government’s commitment to  expand training of health workers to fill the gaps created by those who left the country for greener pastures.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, the  Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, stated that the signing of the MoU with the National Hospital, Abuja; aligns with the policy of the present administration to expand training capacities. 

He said that efforts were made to maintain standards through the Regulatory and Professional Schools Division of Hospital Services Department of the ministry.

Government, he stated, has a duty to provide solutions to multitude of challenges, whether it is infrastructure, equipment or human capital development, stressing, it is because Nigerian health workers are well-trained that they are attractive to other countries.

“Thankfully, because they are well-trained and, we are very proud of them. If we weren’t training them, they wouldn’t have been attractive to other countries.

“Unfortunately, that has implications on the service delivery at home. So as a government, we took a progressive stance to say, look, let’s train more.

“So that even if those who are trained leave, some will stay. And even those who have gone away might come back to serve. And, that is the driving force behind this policy approval by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the Coordinating Minister pointed out .

Pate highlighted the critical importance of the private sector to achieving government’s objective, saying, “our health sector is a mixed system comprising public and private sectors.

“So, the private sector has a space, and I am very pleased that you have joined hands with with the National Hospital to be able to really see how the capabilities of the hospital can help you train more of the clinicians”. 

Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital Prof. Raji Mahmud, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s priority attention for improving the healthcare system.

He expressed optimism that the signing of MoU between the National Hospital Abuja and  private institutions will increase healthcare workforce training exponentially.

Mahmud further pointed out that three out of the four institutions are mainly training institutions to train medical students and nurses alongside the National Hospital, Abuja.