The Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom has pledged fresh cash to help Nigeria enhance its health personnel, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed its appreciation for this. Nigeria will get a grant worth £2 million, or roughly N1.2 billion, over two years to help it improve the performance, quality, and impact of its health workforce through evidence-based policies and practises.
Similar subsidies were given to Ghana and Kenya by the UK to help them face global health concerns with resilience. The WHO declared yesterday that Nigeria would benefit from the grant in its efforts to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). “Like many other nations in the global south, Nigeria’s health system has had difficulties in maintaining a robust health system that can deliver quality health services, promote health, and prevent diseases.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic, which directly influences the availability of health workers to provide high-quality services throughout the nation, has made matters worse, according to the WHO. Dr. Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, responded to the WHO statement by stating that Nigeria needed a competent, motivated, and sufficient health staff in order to stop needless deaths and increase resistance to external health threats.
He continued by saying that the UK International Development financing was in line with the strategic plan for Nigeria’s health workforce and will eventually assist the nation in upskilling its personnel and enhancing health outcomes.
He stated that the two-year Human Resources for Health (HRH) project aims to support regulatory agencies, other important stakeholders, and governments at the national and sub-national levels.
