The Federal Government has announced plans to retrain over 60,000 frontline healthcare workers in 2025 while upgrading 40% of primary health care (PHC) facilities nationwide to provide advanced care. This was disclosed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, in a statement shared on X.
Prof. Pate highlighted that the move is part of a larger health sector reform aimed at improving access to quality healthcare services. A recent assessment of 8,470 PHC facilities revealed that only 65% are functional at a basic level, 21% provide advanced care and 14% are either non-functional or partially functional.
He explained that by 2027, the government aims to double the number of fully functional PHC facilities, with a focus on delivering integrated maternal and child health services, family planning and post-procedural care across all states.
In 2024, the government successfully trained 60,000 healthcare workers. Building on this, the retraining initiative in 2025 will further enhance service delivery in sexual and reproductive health, primary care, and emergency obstetrics.
The government also plans to roll out emergency obstetric services to tertiary institutions nationwide and expand free fistula repair programs to cover 50% of local governments. These efforts are expected to significantly reduce maternal mortality rates.
Additionally, the administration will focus on strengthening public health readiness and disease surveillance. Plans include improving the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and introducing a public health emergency law to standardize emergency responses.