As part of its commitment to strengthening the health workforce, the United Kingdom has announced the release of £2 million funding, for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.
Commending the initiative, the World Health Organization in Nigeria said the grant amounting to £2 will cover two years period to support the government to optimize the performance, quality, and impact of the health workforce through evidence-informed policies and strategies.
“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.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery says,
“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.
“A skilled, well-motivated, and adequate health workforce is critical for Nigeria to #EndPreventableDeaths 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.”
Also, in his remarks, the WHO country representative Dr. Walter Mulombo, noted that with the current needs in the health systems, such funding will boost the capacity of institutions and regulatory bodies for effective public policy stewardship, leadership, and governance while optimizing health workers’ retention, equitable distribution, and management performance
According to him, the project will draw on the technical capacity of WHO to strengthen health systems including experience of implementing similar projects with appreciable results in the past.
“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.
“Through the UK government’s generous support through WHO, we will deploy the technical support from the 3 levels of the organization to support the development of evidence-based policies and strategies, capacity building, and management for improved planning and management of Nigeria’s health workforce.”
Experts opined that 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.
