- Key to achieving UHC, confidence
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Stakeholders in the healthcare sector have advocated that manpower and infrastructural capacities of various health training institutions be expanded to enable more manpower production for the health sector.
The stakeholders, specifically suggested that equity in gender, demography and location be considered in admissions into the training institutions, as well as equitable distribution of available manpower resources in the health sector.
This, they added, will boost confidence and encourage more people, particularly women in the North to freely visit the healthcare facilities, and confidently share their health challenges with the health workers of their choice considering their sensitization to gender.
Dr Fatima Adamu, the Executive Director, Nana Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative, who led the campaign at a human resource for health production dialogue held in Abuja, believe that such intervention will help in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
As the keynote speaker at the dialogue meeting, she appealed to governments, especially at state levels to ensure there was equity in the recruitment and deployment of available medical personnel particularly to rural communities.
She was particularly concerned with the experiences in some northern states where, by virtue of culture or religion, male health workers are often not encouraged to attend to female patients particularly when it has to do with certain areas of her body.
She narrated how a 14-year-old woman in Katsina State lost her marriage because a male doctor attended to her when she had serious complications after childbirth. “This young girl was divorced by her husband because of that,” she lamented.
She also lamented the shortage of health workers despite the annual addition to the pool from various training institutions. “We are producing health workers far below our needs. Our average population growth is 3.2 per cent, but our annual production of nurses and midwives is 2.6 per cent. So, definitely, there is a gap.
“Also there is the issue of “japa” syndrome. The few health workers being produced annually are migrating to different countries in search of “greener pastures”. For instance, in 2022, Nigeria produced 21,232 nurses/midwives, but foreign boards contacted MDCN for verification of 13, 468.”
Dr Andy Omoluabi, Country Director, Health Workforce Management (HWM), in his remarks, appreciated the efforts and commitments of different stakeholders towards the production of healthcare workers.
Nevertheless, he challenged the states and other stakeholders to find a means of increasing the number of health workers so that more rural communities can have access to quality health workers for their needs.
Mr Jason Wright, the Principal Associate, Banyan Global which is the Lead Partner, said in his presentation, that HWM was committed to National Strategic Health Development Plan, assisting the government plan and prioritising its health workforce needs.
He highlighted the ways through which they have supported the government in establishing a cost-effective, well-trained, effective and motivated health workforce, particularly in targeted rural and remote communities.
In addition to that, he said they have contributed to greater health systems responsiveness and improved health outcomes, especially among women and children.
He said their interventions are currently ongoing in Ebonyi, Kebbi, Sokoto, Bauchi and FCT, and the target beneficiaries are mostly frontline health workers with a focus on nurses, midwives, community health practitioners, and others.