By Stanley Onyekwere
The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, has lauded the National Health Fellows Programme for strengthening healthcare delivery in the territory.
Fasawe, noted that the initiative has improved data management, manpower support and service delivery at the grassroots.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja during interviews for the second cohort of the National Health Fellows, she said the fellows have, over the past year, played a key role in making health planning more efficient through effective data collection and use.
She explained that the programme has also enabled task shifting, with fellows now handling responsibilities that would normally require doctors, matrons or senior supervisors.
“Health fellows have helped us tremendously in all our projects. They have made data collection, uploading, transmission and feedback more fluid and more efficient in the FCT.
“We now know what more they can do. Some of the tasks we used to wait for doctors or senior officers to do are now being allocated to the fellows”, Fasawe noted.
According to her, the Fellows undergo intensive training and are deliberately selected from within the communities they serve, a move she said has improved acceptance and impact.
“They know the terrain, the language and the health-seeking behaviour of the people. That has helped us achieve better results”, she added.
Fasawe expressed concern over the shortage of health personnel and called for an increase in the number of fellows in 2026.
“Human resources in health is a major concern. Initiatives like this gladden our hearts, but we need more to support primary healthcare delivery”, she said, while thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Health and the FCT Minister for their support.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the FCT Administration, Health Services and Environment Secretariat Babagana Adam, said the programme has already started making impact, but stressed that six fellows one per area council are not enough for the territory.
“The FCT is disadvantaged with only six fellows. Abuja Municipal Area Council alone is vast in land and population. Six fellows cannot adequately cover our 62 wards”, Adam said.
He revealed that the FCT is pushing for an expansion of the programme to at least 18 fellows to ensure better coverage and impact.
“We believe in this programme. That is why we are asking for more fellows to serve the people better”, he said.
Adam also disclosed that the FCT has made progress in upgrading primary healthcare centres, noting that over 300 PHCs exist across the six area councils, with ongoing improvements under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
On health insurance, he said the FCT has exceeded its target, enrolling over 36,000 residents instead of the projected 25,000.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) Team Lead for Health Systems and Services, Dr. Mary Brentwell, said the selection process for the National Health Fellows is transparent and credible.
“We are here as observers. The panel is balanced, the questions are fair and the candidates have diverse skill sets that can contribute meaningfully to the health sector”, she said.
Earlier, the Acting Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics and FCT SWAP Desk Officer, Dr. Teresa Ekaete Nwachukwu, said the programme was designed to groom young leaders for primary healthcare.
She described the selection process as seamless and free of godfatherism, explaining that candidates are selected purely on merit.
Nwachukwu emphasised the transparency of the selection process, noting that candidates do not require political connections or godfathers to succeed.
“For each local government, one fellow will eventually be selected. In the FCT, we have six area councils, so six fellows will emerge from 18 shortlisted candidates”, she explained.
According to her, the Fellows are expected to identify gaps in primary healthcare delivery, collect and analyse data, and link community challenges with area councils, state and national authorities for timely solutions.
One of the candidates, Saidu Bello Karshi from Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), described the interview as seamless and expressed optimism about emerging successful.
It was gathered that the interviews in Abuja are part of a nationwide exercise to select the second batch of National Health Fellows, aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery, especially at the primary level.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
