The Federal Government has announced that the number of functional primary healthcare centres across Nigeria has risen from over 8,000 to more than 16,000, marking a significant improvement in access to basic healthcare services at the community level.
The Director and Head of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr John Ovuoraye, made this known at the National Consultation on Advancing Nigeria’s Community Health Workforce Agenda, organised by CARE International in Nigeria in collaboration with other development partners.
Ovuoraye explained that the increase formed part of government’s efforts to improve primary healthcare delivery and ensure that more Nigerians, especially those living in rural and underserved communities, have access to essential health services.
He noted, however, that expanding healthcare facilities must go hand in hand with sufficient investment in the health workforce, particularly community health workers who operate closest to the people.
The director said the government remained committed to developing the workforce needed to deliver effective healthcare services, but pointed out that insecurity and the migration of trained professionals were creating additional pressure on the sector.
“Our human workforce in the country is reducing; the trained specialists are leaving the country. Insecurity is also a challenge to community-level healthcare delivery because some health posts have been shut down because of insecurity,” he said.
The Country Director of CARE International in Nigeria, Dr Hussaini Abdu, also said the growth in primary healthcare infrastructure should be accompanied by better welfare packages and professional development opportunities for community health workers.
Abdu noted that community health workers had played a vital role in delivering healthcare services to mothers, children and families for many years, despite challenges including inadequate recognition, irregular remuneration, weak supervision and limited opportunities for career progression.
He described the community health workforce agenda as poorly funded and insufficiently institutionalised, stressing the need for joint efforts to improve the sector.
“The challenges facing our community health workforce cannot be solved by government alone, donors alone, implementing partners alone, or communities alone,” he said.
Also speaking, CARE International in Nigeria’s Health Sector Lead, Dr Amina Abdullahi, described community health workers as a vital connection between local communities and the formal healthcare system, particularly in providing services to women and girls.
She advocated continuous investment in their training, equipment and professional skills to improve the quality of healthcare they provide.
“What we want to see is a community health workforce, primarily community-based health workers being fully supported with the training that they need, with the equipment that they need, with the skills that they need,” Abdullahi said.
