UK Commits £2 Million Grant To Nigeria’s Health Workforce

The United Kingdom's Department of Health and Social Care announced that the country will support Nigeria's health workforce by granting £2 million (USD $2.48 million).

The official website of the Nigeria Government acknowledged the same on Tuesday and mentioned that the Nigerian government has received £2 million from the UK in order to strengthen the health workforce.

The website further mentioned the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery's statement, revealing that the department is allocating funds to upskill the health workers, which will eventually improve the health department in the long run.

"The 2-year HRH project aims to support the government at national and sub-national levels and support regulatory bodies, professional associations, and other key stakeholders to develop transformative strategies for scaling up the quantity and quality of health workers, including competency-based curricula development and reviews," Commissioner Montgomery said, Voice Of Nigeria reported.

Aside from Nigeria, the UK is also providing health care support to two more African countries: Kenya and Ghana.

Dr. Montgomery explained, "The Nigerian health system like many countries in the global south has been beset with challenges in having a resilient health system that is able to provide quality health services, promote health and prevent diseases."

He noted that COVID-19 has further exacerbated the challenges for the country's health system as the pandemic directly impacted the health service sector in Nigeria.

This announcement was appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization explained that the grant will help Nigeria's current and future needs of the population and health systems.

WHO noted that these funds will "strengthen the capacity of institutions including regulatory bodies for effective public policy stewardship, leadership and governance, optimize health workers' retention, equitable distribution, and performance and strengthen the management of Health workforce data for monitoring and accountability."

Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, who serves as WHO Representative in Nigeria, shared that "Nigeria must have adequate numbers of health workers who are fit for purpose, motivated to perform, and equitably distributed across the subnational levels to enhance equity in access to their services by the population in need."

He continued, "Through the UK government's generous support through WHO, we will deploy the technical support from the 3 levels of the organization to support the development of evidence-based policies and strategies, capacity building and management for improved planning and management of Nigeria's health workforce."