• Re-trains 40,000 health workers
Federal Government has disbursed about N45 billion through the Basic Healthcare Provisions Fund (BHCPF) to over 8,000 primary healthcare centres to enable the facilities to serve the population effectively.
Also, more than 40,000 health workers have, so far, been retrained as part of the government’s commitment to tackling the manpower shortage in the health sector and filling the vacuum created by the migration abroad of Nigeria’s skilled health workforce for greener pastures.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, who disclosed this at the Nigeria Health Sector-wide Joint Annual Review, yesterday, in Abuja, stated that the BHCPF 2.0 reform used equity considerations in distributing financial and human resources to over 8,000 primary health care centres through direct facilities.
Pate stated that the government, in collaboration with partners, had mobilised more than N3b in terms of complementary funding, including N2.1 billion, that has been confirmed, which would complement the Federal Government’s efforts.
He said: ‘In the last one year, several facilities have been revitalised already, and 2,600 are currently in the late stages of being upgraded through the states and these are resources that we know will also help to make our primary health care centres functional and 2,000 additional health facilities will also be revitalised as part of this effort. The administration has announced plans to retrain 120,000 frontline health workers which is a demonstration of the President’s commitment to improving the health workforce.”
Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, said though there had been some improvements in health indicators, particularly in reducing the under-five mortality rates in the country, the figures remained unacceptably high, adding that the country had witnessed worsening trends in neonatal mortality and malnutrition.
He said: “These statistics highlight the urgency of our work, and make the signing of the Health Renewal Compact timely and crucial. We must continue to work together, recognising the unique challenges each state faces, while maintaining our shared focus on achieving better health outcomes for all Nigerians.”
According to Uzodinma, one of the landmark initiatives introduced by the Federal Government to enhance safety and efficiency in the health sector is the sector-wide approach, which promotes one budget, one plan, one conversation, and one report.
