The Federal Government has declared its readiness to actualise the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter through policy implementation, investment and accountability measures.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Adekunle Salako, stated this at the 2nd Africa Health Workforce Investment Forum, where he stressed the need for increased investment to strengthen Africa’s health workforce.

He identified the financing gap as one of the most critical barriers to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) across the continent.

Salako noted that although Africa’s health worker density increased from 11 per 10,000 people in 2013 to 27 per 10,000 in 2024, projections indicate a shortfall of about 6.1 million health workers by 2030 if current trends persist.

The minister highlighted Nigeria’s National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, which he described as a landmark framework built around ethical recruitment, bilateral agreements, diaspora engagement, retention incentives and rural deployment.

According to him, the policy seeks to address the growing migration of health workers and aligns with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Code of Practice on International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

Salako disclosed that under the Bola Tinubu administration, Nigeria launched the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, targeting about $900 million in health system investments between 2024 and 2026.

He said the initiative focuses on rebuilding primary healthcare infrastructure, expanding training capacity and deploying community health workers nationwide. “Nigeria has also completed the National Health Workforce Country Profile and established the National Health Workforce Registry (NHWR), with WHO technical support,” he said.

“A Health Labour Market Analysis (HLMA) is underway to inform Nigeria’s investment compact under the Africa Health Workforce Investment Charter.”

Salako further disclosed that training quotas had been increased in health training institutions to close workforce gaps, while over 70,000 frontline health workers had been retrained toward a target of 120,000 under the primary healthcare workforce strengthening initiative.

He added that the government remained committed to deploying community health workers nationwide as part of Nigeria’s Universal Health Coverage roadmap.

On workforce migration, the minister advocated a new compact on health workforce mobility through managed migration agreements with clear terms and key performance indicators.

He proposed structured investments by destination countries in the training of health workers in source countries such as Nigeria.

According to him, the current arrangement in which low-income countries bear the cost of training while high-income countries benefit from the workforce is unsustainable and inequitable.

Salako also proposed structured bilateral and multilateral agreements that would include compensation for source countries, joint training programmes, and circular migration pathways that allow health workers to gain experience abroad and return with enhanced skills.

He advocated increased investment in health training infrastructure in countries of origin and called for an annual report on each country’s graduate-employment ratio as part of a standardised Africa Health Workforce Scorecard.

Speaking further on the health workforce situation in Africa, Salako noted that the financing landscape was undergoing a significant shift, with Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) declining by an estimated 70 per cent between 2021 and 2025.

He also cited 27 per cent unemployment among skilled professionals despite workforce shortages, a 41 per cent increase in public health emergencies between 2022 and 2024, and Africa carrying about 25 per cent of the global disease burden.

To address the challenges, the minister said a 43 per cent increase in employment investment was required and urged African countries to meet the 15 per cent Abuja Declaration target for health sector funding.

According to him, only three of Africa’s 54 countries- Rwanda, Botswana and Cabo Verde have achieved the target.