Nigeria Takes a Step Forward in Building a Stronger Health System
The health workforce is the backbone of every healthcare system. However, many countries, including Nigeria, face challenges like worker shortages, uneven distribution of skills, and limited training opportunities.
To address these issues, the Global Health Workforce Programme (GHWP) was launched in Nigeria on Thursday, February 15th, 2024. In partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMOHSW) and Funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), managed by the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), with Ducit Blue Solutions (DBS) as the local Grant Manager for Nigeria. The GHWP aims to develop a stronger and more resilient health workforce in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana through the awarding of Grants that align with the priority health workforce strengthening goals of the Health Ministries. The GHWP will support Health Partnerships (HPs) to respond to the national Health Workforce priorities that were identified through a scoping assessment, in Nigeria, it was carried out in October 2023 with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), World Health Organisation (WHO) and relevant healthcare stakeholders which includes professional health regulatory bodies, institutions and academia within the country to build stronger, more resilient health systems for post-pandemic recovery and to make progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In Nigeria, awards have been granted to twelve HPs, with eight large grants (LGs) and four small grants (SGs) awarded. The Health Partnerships (HPs) projects will run from February 2024 until March 2025.
GHWP Launch Day: First in Africa – Nigeria Leading the Way
Image GHWP I: A cross-section of some launch day stakeholders
The event brought together key stakeholders, including government agencies, healthcare institutions, professional bodies, and development partners. A total of 97 participants representing diverse organisations like the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW), World Health Organization (WHO), USAID, stakeholder representatives from the Federal Government Agencies, members of the GHWP National Oversight Mechanism (NOM), Health Institutions and Professional bodies, Development Partners, GHWP Health Partnerships, THET and Ducit Blue Solutions (DBS) staff as well as the media, actively participated in discussions which were centred around the development of the quality and quantity of the Nigerian Health Workforce with vital input from all parties including the media.
The launch program featured presentations by THET, Ducit Blue Solutions (local Grant Manager), FMoHSW, and the HPs themselves. Presentations highlighted the GHWP’s objectives, identified priorities, and plans for ensuring program sustainability and scalability. The HPs presented their project details, emphasising alignment with national health priorities and stakeholder collaboration strategies.
Image GHWP II: Mr John Okobia moderating the GHWP launch event
The Launch event was moderated by Mr. John Okobia Assistant Director of Human Resources for Health from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoHSW). He gave an overview of the programme including the event’s objectives and made a proper introduction to key stakeholders present in the event.
What is the GHWP programme?
The Global Health Workforce Programme (GHWP) is a program funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care. It aims to develop the Health Workforce in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, supporting them to build stronger and more resilient health systems for post-pandemic recovery and progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) using the Health Partnership (HP) Model.
Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) – Global Fund Manager of the GHWP
Representing THET at the launch, Mathilde Wangen, Programme Manager and Margaret Caffrey, Technical Director at Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) offered valuable insights into information sharing, ensuring that health partnerships are equipped with essential information and have engaged with key national stakeholders. Health partnerships also sought clarifications regarding the grant process, particularly concerning the implementation, funding, and execution of their programs within the country.
Image GHWP III: Mathilde Wangen, Programme Manager, & Margaret Caffrey, Technical Director at Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET)
Ducit Blue Solutions – Local Grant Manager For the GHWP in Nigeria
As local grant managers for the GHWP programme in Nigeria (funded by the UK Department of Health and Social care) from February 2024 to March 2025, DBS in collaboration with THET (Global fund Manager), will support the management and oversight of the delivery of the 12 Nigerian Health Partnerships. substitute grantees with Health partnerships (HPs).
Image GHWP IV: Pharm. Estelle Mbadiwe, Co-Founder Ducit Blue Solutions
In a press release, Pharm Estelle Mbadiwe, Co-Founder of Ducit Blue Solutions, expressed how thrilled she was to collaborate with THET (fund manager), and DHSC (funder), as the grant manager in Nigeria. In her words, “Our focus is on utilising data for health and improvement science, including health systems strengthening, where the health workforce plays a significant role. We are excited to expand our health partnership efforts with the GHWP programme, building upon the successful work of the Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS).”
What is the health partnership model?
The Health Partnership model is a collaborative approach aimed at enhancing health services through shared knowledge and capacity-building activities. This model fosters long-term, sustainable relationships that are mutually beneficial for all involved parties. By partnering, organisations work together to co-develop programs that address both organisational and national health priorities. Through this collaborative effort, Health Partnerships strive to improve healthcare outcomes and strengthen healthcare systems for the betterment of communities.
What significance does this program hold for Nigeria?
The value of this program to Nigeria has been accurately articulated by the high-profile speakers at the Launch. Below are some excerpts.
Sharing Expertise and Building Capacity
Image GHWP V: Ducit Blue Solutions Co-Founder, Pharm Estelle Mbadiwe, leading an icebreaker session with the Health Partners (HPs) and stakeholders at the launch event.
At the event, stakeholders actively participated at the prompting of Pharm. Estelle Mbadiwe, posed a single-word question: “What is the greatest obstacle to health workforce strengthening in Nigeria?” Their varied responses were gathered via the crowd-sourcing platform Slido, visible in real-time to all attendees. This process illuminated the prevailing obstacle to health workforce strengthening in Nigeria.
Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu, Director (Health Planning, Research & Statistics)
Image GHWP VI: Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu, Director (Health Planning, Research & Statistics) – FMoHSW
An Opening remark was given by Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, Director of Health Planning, Research & Statistics who represented the Coordinating Minister of Health, Professor Ali Pate. He said, “We are not merely launching a programme, we are embarking on a journey of collaboration, innovation and sustainable change”. He addressed the awarded grant projects as pivotal in implementing the GHWP.
He mentioned that the Ministry strives to strengthen coordination, leadership and management capacity at all levels through empowering health managers, programme coordinators and primary healthcare facility heads to overcome challenges in performance and retention while enhancing the overall quality of care through robust supervision and evaluation. He added that the GHWP comes to support the already existing national priorities through programmes geared at regulating and enhancing the quality of various health professionals’ pre-service education and practice in addition to faculty capacity strengthening, exchange programmes and the expansion of e-learning modules/materials to ensure that health professionals receive the highest quality training. He concluded by officially launching the Global Health workforce programme to the In-Country Coordinator and Founder Ducit Blue Solutions, Pharm. Estelle Mbadiwe.
Image GHWP VII: Officially endorsing and launching the GHWP to the In-Country Coordinator and Founder Ducit Blue Solutions, Pharm. Estelle Mbadiwe on behalf of the Coordinating Minister of Health represented by Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, Director (Health Planning, Research & Statistics) – FMoHSW.
Image GHWP VIII: Deputy Registrar & Head, Department of Planning, Research, and Statistics of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN)
Following the Opening remarks, Dr Victor Gbenro in his Goodwill message expressed the gladness of the MDCN to be associated with this laudable initiative aimed at strengthening the health workforce.
He says “The MDCN stands to be a direct beneficiary of the GHWP as the programme aligns with the MDCN mandates.” He also highlighted numerous advantages of the program in addressing priority areas such as Capacity Building and Research to Data use and availability.
Image GHWP IX: H.E. Toyin Saraki (Founder – President of the Wellbeing Foundation)
Also at the launch event was H.E. Toyin Sarak, in her goodwill message, she highlighted the importance of investing in continuous professional development and training programmes, not only to improve the competency of healthcare professionals but to also provide timely and effective care that contributes to reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
She added that a well-trained and adequately supported healthcare workforce is the backbone of all healthcare systems, serving as the frontline in addressing the diverse healthcare needs of the population.
Image GHWP X: Dr. Ebere Anyachukwu, Health Adviser at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Nigeria
Dr. Ebere Anyachukwu highlighted the vital role of the UK International Development Programme in supporting the Nigerian Government’s efforts by backing a range of enduring partnerships between UK and Nigerian institutions – to improve the skill, expertise and effectiveness of Nigeria’s health workforce.
“It will complement other UK programmes targeted at supporting improvements to Nigeria’s health workforce policies, governance, management and expanding the capacity of training institutions.”
He concluded with congratulatory words for the grantees “We encourage you to maximise this opportunity by demonstrating scalable and sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s health workforce crisis. We urge you to think not just of your project, but to collaborate with others to co-create and synergize innovative solutions to the difficult health workforce challenges we face”.
Image GHWP XI: Dr. Olumuyiwa Ojo Representing Dr Walter Kazadi Mulino MD, MSc PH, FAIPHP WHO Country Representative Office in Nigeria
Furthermore, on the value of GHWP, representing Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, the WHO country representative, Dr. Olumuyiwa Ojo expressed the necessity for this programme by saying “This project is thus coming at the right moment to contribute to the Government’s plan and policies on Human Resources for Health.”
Image GHWP XII: Dr. Nwakaego Chukwukaodinaka, Deputy Director Health Systems Strengthening – FMOH&SW
During the launch event, the keynote address was given by Dr Nwakaego Chukwukaodinaka, Deputy Director Health System Strengthening. Using a description of the Nigerian landscape of Human Resource for Health adequately demonstrated the gaps and priority areas and strategies for strengthening this landscape with the participation of the GHWP Grant.
In her words, “Our Policy mandate at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is to take the leading role in implementing strategies for the National HRH Policy in collaboration with key stakeholders. As we launch the Global Health Workforce Program today, we commend the UK government and express our desire for more fruitful collaborations in the future.”
Sharing Insights From Health Partnership: The Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CWPAMs) Experience
Image GHWP XIII: Dr Ridwan Yahaya, National Antimicrobial Resistance Program Manager – NCDC
It is important to state that during the presentation on sharing insights on Health Partnerships programs a key session of the event, Dr. Ridwan Yahaya, the National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Program Manager at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, provided a brief overview of Nigeria’s AMR response and its partnerships with THET. He emphasised the pivotal role of government through NCDC in these partnerships, highlighting Nigeria’s collaboration with THET and the impact of the Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) on National Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) core elements.
Meet the Awarded Nigerian Projects
In conclusion, as part of the proceedings of the launch, THET and Ducit Blue Solutions held a dedicated session focused on collaboration and coordination among HPs. Participants brainstormed ways to work together with existing HWF actors and gave an overview of their programs, maximising impact and ensuring long-term success. The discussions divulged further into the importance of equitable relationships between partners in a Health Partnership, and suggestions and resources HPs could take on board to aim for equitable partnerships. The Government stakeholders also provided insight into how the HPs can integrate into national programmes.
The projects are enthusiastically embraced as they are expected to benefit the Nigerian Health Workforce to varying extents directly.
Image GHWP XIV: Some members of the Nigerian Health Partnership
A Brighter Future for Healthcare in Nigeria
The launch of the GHWP marks a significant step towards strengthening Nigeria’s health workforce. Through fostering collaboration and investing in targeted interventions, the program aims to equip the healthcare system with skilled professionals to further deliver quality care for all Nigerians. Join us in this endeavour!
