Get Guardian on GoogleThe West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has intensified efforts to harmonise the training, accreditation and recognition of health professionals’ qualifications across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as part of a regional strategy to address workforce shortages and strengthen healthcare delivery.
Director-General of WAHO, Prof. Palokinam Pitche, who disclosed this at the 11th Statutory Meeting of the Regional Council for Health Professionals Education in the ECOWAS Region in Abuja expressed concern over persistent shortages of qualified health personnel, their unequal geographical distribution and challenges associated with professional development and staff retention, warning that these could undermine efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
He noted that the availability of adequately trained and motivated health professionals remained fundamental to resilient healthcare systems, adding without human resources in health, there are neither health centres, clinics nor hospitals.
Pitche noted that despite several regional agreements and policy frameworks designed to improve health professionals’ education, implementation had remained slow and inconsistent across member states.
He identified harmonised training curricula, mutual recognition of qualifications, professional mobility, capacity development, exchange of expertise and joint research as critical to addressing the region’s healthcare challenges.
Pitche said the organisation would launch an evaluation of its regional human resources for health development programme in 2027 to assess its achievements, identify implementation gaps and determine areas requiring improvement.
He explained that the programme had enabled English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking West African countries to collaborate on harmonising health professionals’ curricula, accrediting training institutions and recognising professional qualifications across the sub-region.
According to him, the initiative has become a model for other African regions seeking to strengthen cooperation in health professionals’ education.
He said the 11th statutory meeting was expected to finalise proposals on the recognition and equivalence of diplomas and certificates within the WAHO region, as well as a regional action plan for training in priority areas of human resources for health.
The DG reaffirmed WAHO’s commitment to working with member states, professional regulatory bodies, academic institutions and development partners to implement regional decisions on health workforce development.
Pitche maintained that regional cooperation in health professionals’ education was essential to ensuring that qualified personnel could move across borders, exchange skills and knowledge, participate in joint research and contribute to healthcare delivery wherever their services were needed.
He called on stakeholders to translate the meeting’s deliberations into practical actions capable of improving the quality of health professionals’ education and strengthening healthcare systems across West Africa.
In his address, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate described investment in health professionals’ education as a strategic priority for achieving Universal Health Coverage and improving health outcomes across West Africa.
Pate stated that the increasing complexity of health challenges, including emerging infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, health emergencies, workforce shortages and migration, required a competent, resilient and adequately distributed health workforce.
He urged the Regional Council to strengthen competency-based curricula, accreditation and quality assurance, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, faculty development and institutional collaboration.
The minister also called for the integration of research, digital health, artificial intelligence and innovative learning approaches into health professionals’ education to prepare graduates for emerging healthcare demands.
Pate observed that Nigeria recognised human resources for health as a central pillar of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and ongoing health sector reforms.
According to him, the country’s commitment includes strengthening training institutions, improving professional standards, addressing workforce shortages and maldistribution, and promoting better working conditions, career development and staff retention.
He added that Nigeria remained committed to collaborating with WAHO, ECOWAS member states, regulatory bodies, academic institutions and development partners towards building an integrated and resilient regional health system.
Pate further stressed the need to incorporate epidemiology, infection prevention and control, emergency preparedness and the One Health approach into professional training, noting that health threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic had demonstrated that epidemics transcend national boundaries.
On his part, a representative of the West African Professional, Colleges, Prof Yao Tettey warned that the failure of ECOWAS member states to implement harmonised policies on health professionals’ education and practice could undermine efforts to retain skilled medical personnel in the sub-region.
Tettey urged governments to move beyond the formulation of regional policy documents and ensure their adoption and implementation at the national level.
He stated that though postgraduate medical colleges across the region had begun incorporating harmonised curricula developed by the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) into their training programmes and accreditation criteria, several policy documents requiring action by national authorities were yet to receive the necessary attention.
According to him, effective implementation of the harmonised frameworks would promote uniform standards of training and professional practice, facilitate the free movement of health workers across West Africa and address the uneven distribution of skilled personnel.
