WHO wants FG, partners to increase workforce in states

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The World Health Organization (WHO), has called on the government of Nigeria and partners to scale up health workforce registry to cover the remaining states in the country.
WHO Officer in Charge (OiC), Dr Peter Clement made the call at the launch of the Nigeria Health Workforce Country profile -2018 and handing over of the National Health Workforce Registry on Tuesday in Abuja.
The WHO in partnership with the 14 regulatory bodies and the Department of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Health, (FMOH),have been able to support the updating of the country’s Health Workforce Profile to 2018.
Clement said that the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), leadership should give approval and lead the migration of the registry to a sustainable hosting platform managed by the ministry, with a dedicated budget line instituted to ensure sustenance of the functionality of the registry.
He said that a strong and vibrant governance structure led by the Minister for Health and Commissioners for Health at the State levels should be established.
“The structure will provide general oversight and guidance on the registry including the use of the information for evidence-based health sector planning.
“We recommend that this function be integrated into the existing health information system governance structures i.e. the Health Data Governance Council (HDGC) and Health Data Consultative Committee (HDCC),” he said.
Peters said with dequate, dedicated, competent and skilled personnel who were staff of FMOH, and with clear roles and responsibilities should be constituted to serve as the National Operational Team managing the registry.
According to him, Mechanisms should be instituted to ensure that health workforce information are updated periodically at all levels as indicated in the National Health Workforce Registry Standard Operating Procedure to ensure that health workforce information in the registry are up-to-date.

He believed that these would ensure sustainability of the National Health Workforce Registry.

On his part, Dr Emmanuel Meribole, Head of Department Health Planning, Research and Statistics FMoH, said that in collaboration with WHO the country had successfully updated and validated Nigeria’s health workforce profile from 2012 to 2018.

Meribole said that this was done with the funding from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC) under the “Enhancing the Ability of Frontline Health Workers to Improve Health in Nigeria” project.