Nigeria recruits 37,000 health workers since 2023, trains 70,000 frontline staff

Nigeria's federal government has significantly bolstered its healthcare workforce, recruiting no fewer than 37,000 health workers across its institutions since 2023. This extensive recruitment drive, coupled with the training of 70,000 frontline workers, is a strategic move aimed at enhancing the quality and accessibility of healthcare services nationwide.

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These actions are supported by the National Health Workforce Registry and continued investments in specialist training and workforce development.

To combat the growing challenge of skilled health professionals seeking opportunities abroad, the government has also approved Nigeria’s National Policy on Health Workforce Migration. This policy is designed to improve workforce planning, strengthen the retention of medical personnel within the country, and promote ethical recruitment practices. These efforts are supported by the National Health Workforce Registry and ongoing investments in specialist training and overall workforce development.

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The federal government had approved N32.9 billion under the revised framework to support no fewer than 8,300 Primary Health Centres, with expansion ongoing to have 13,000 facilities nationwide.

A key driver of improved primary healthcare delivery is the revised Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF 2.0). Under this framework, the federal government has allocated N32.9 billion to support over 8,300 Primary Health Centres, with plans to expand this coverage to 13,000 facilities across the nation. These reforms have facilitated approximately 80 million patient visits, and more than 21 million vulnerable Nigerians have received healthcare services through the Vulnerable Groups Health Insurance Fund.

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The objective is simple: strengthen local production, improve medicine security and make essential medicines more available and affordable for Nigerians.

Disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness are also being strengthened through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention gateway, funded by the BHCPF. Furthermore, the government is boosting local pharmaceutical manufacturing via the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain, aiming to enhance medicine security and make essential medicines more available and affordable. Health infrastructure, maternal and newborn health, emergency preparedness, digital health systems, and accountability are also areas of focus in these ongoing reforms.

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Lasting reforms, however, are measured not by rhetoric, but by sustained action, transparent implementation and measurable results.