.. Urges Nigeria to cash in on CRISP to enhance service delivery at PHC level
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The World Health Organization, WHO, has promised to support Nigeria with it’s UK $2 million grant to strengthen it’s health workers workforce towards achieving the nation’s Universal Health coverage.
The WHO Africa Regional Director, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti made this call at the launch of Community – based Health Research innovation Training and Services Programme , CRISP, at the State House , Abuja.
Moeti disclosed that WHO has been awarded a grant of GBP 2 million by the government of the United Kingdom to support Nigeria to strengthen its health workforce towards achieving .Universal Health Coverage.
She said,”Through this generous support by the UK’s government, WHO Nigeria will work with government MDAs including NPHCDA to optimize the performance, quality, and impact of the health workforce through evidence-in formed policies and strategies.”
The World Health Organization, WHO, has called on the Nigerian Government to increasingly motivate it’s health workers to enhance service delivery at the Primary Health Care level.
Dr. Moeti noted that for a resilient and effective health system, ” Nigeria must have adequate numbers of health workers who are fit for purpose, motivated to perform, and equitably distributed especially at the PHC level to enhance equity in access to their services.”
She urged the Nigerian Government to tap into the CRISP will tap to maximize existing human resources for health and bridge the skills gap at PHCs by tapping the expertise at higher levels of care.
According to Moeti, the strength of every health system reflects on the capacity and adequacy of its health workforce, which are necessary to deliver quality services to address population health needs.
Nigeria , she emphasized has over time experienced chronic under-investment in planning, education, training, employment and working conditions of health workers, adding that such mismatch between education and employment strategies in relation to health systems and population needs are contributing to continuous shortages, especially at the PHC level.
