The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) on Tuesday flagged off a workshop in Abuja to inaugurate the redesigned Community-Based Health Workers (CBHW) programme.
The CBHW programme is an initiative aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s primary healthcare system and improving access to care in underserved communities.
The workshop had as its theme, “Optimised Community Health Workforce: Key to Strengthening PHC and Achieving Universal Health Coverage.”
The workshop brought together stakeholders from federal, state, and local governments, as well as development partners, to build support for the implementation of the programme across all levels of government.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, said that the redesigned programme was intended to streamline and formalise the roles of community health workers.
According to him, it is to ensure quality healthcare delivery in remote areas of the country.
“One of the major focuses of President Bola Tinubu’s health sector agenda is to drastically reduce infant and maternal mortality by improving the quality of basic healthcare services,” Aina said.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, along with other relevant agencies, was working hard to ensure that all Nigerians had access to decent and affordable healthcare.
He said that as part of the push for PHC revitalisation, over 1,000 primary health centres had been upgraded from sub-optimal to optimal status in 2024.
“Another 2,500 facilities are currently undergoing revitalisation across the states,” he said.
Aina said that the government had also prioritised retraining frontline health workers, with over 60,000 already trained and deployed in health facilities nationwide.
He acknowledged the contributions of the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, who had donated over 60,000 uniforms and kits to midwives across the country’s six geopolitical zones, to support the workforce.
Despite these achievements, he stressed the critical role of community health workers in bridging the gap between health facilities and communities.
“We realise that we can not reach every household fast enough without engaging community health workers.
“They form the crucial link between healthcare facilities and the communities they serve,” he said.
Also speaking at the workshop, the Chairman of the Health Commissioners Forum, Dr Oyebanji Filani, explained the collaborative nature of the initiative.
“This initiative fosters a more collaborative approach among the three tiers of government.
“We are working with the Nigerian Governors Forum and bringing in local governments through ALGON to co-develop a fit-for-purpose framework, while also considering the unique contexts of different states,” Filani said.
Stakeholders including representatives from the Nigerian Governors Forum, World Health Organisation, UNICEF, World Bank, and other partners expressed strong support for the initiative.
The organisations described it as both innovative and impactful for achieving universal health coverage in Nigeria.
NAN
