The Federal Government of Nigeria has set a target to employ 100,000 salaried community health workers by 2027. This initiative aims to strengthen primary healthcare and ensure dependable remuneration, legal recognition, and career progression for frontline personnel. Vice President Kashim Shettima announced this plan at the Continental High-Level Forum on a Fit-for-Purpose Health Workforce in Abuja. He emphasized that fair and consistent remuneration is essential to expanding healthcare access and building resilient institutions.
According to Shettima, Nigeria's community health workforce currently stands below the 315,000 workers required by 2030. The Vice President highlighted the importance of improving the welfare and rights of community health workers, whose services are critical to maternal health, immunization, disease surveillance, and outbreak detection. He noted that community health workers play a vital role in detecting outbreaks and providing essential healthcare services.
The Community Health Programme Continental Acceleration Plan 2026–2030 was launched to address the shortage of community health workers. The plan focuses on governance, integration with primary care, workforce development, digital systems, service delivery, financing, supplies, and accountability. It envisages a future where community health workers enjoy legal recognition, certification, dependable salaries, supervision, and clear career opportunities.
The continental plan requires about $28 billion through 2030, with more than 80% allocated to recurrent costs. The plan projects $19 in economic and social benefits for every dollar invested. Shettima described the plan as ambitious but achievable, emphasizing the need for sustained financing to achieve its goals. He also highlighted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's commitment to financing health reform and advancing Africa's health workforce agenda.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako, noted that the acceleration plan aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda's priorities of strengthening disease surveillance and community resilience. Egypt's Deputy Minister of Health for Population and Family Development, Dr. Abla Al-Alfi, called for stronger primary healthcare systems and greater support for community health workers to improve maternal and family health.
Deputy Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Raji Tajudeen, reported that Africa has achieved barely half of the two-million-worker target adopted by its leaders in 2016. He identified recurring infectious disease outbreaks, declining international health assistance, and inadequate operational readiness of primary healthcare facilities as major obstacles. Tajudeen commended Nigeria's primary healthcare efforts and response to an Ebola incident.
The Vice President emphasized that the distance between a household and a health worker can determine whether a person survives. He warned that shrinking external health financing poses a challenge, with 85% of member states depending heavily on donors for community health. Shettima urged countries to commit to one nationally owned plan, one budget, and one monitoring framework to achieve the continental health targets.
Key points
- The Federal Government aims to employ 100,000 salaried community health workers by 2027.
- The Community Health Programme Continental Acceleration Plan 2026–2030 requires about $28 billion through 2030.
- Nigeria's community health workforce currently stands below the 315,000 workers required by 2030.
