To ensure better public healthcare delivery, the African Institute of Public Health Professionals (AIPHP) in collaboration with other stakeholders has trained Nigerian health workers on effective leadership and management skills.
At the 3-day training workshop in Abuja,
the partner stakeholders, including World Health Organisation(WHO), Pathfinder, Rahi, International Health Consultancy and Ehorecon, said the leadership crisis and incompetence in public health due to inadequate training necessitate the need to train leaders in public health to move the system forward.
The workshop with the theme, “Transforming Performance of the Health Sector: Roles of Leadership and Management”, aimed to address the deficit in leadership competencies and crisis in the Nigeria’s health sector.
Speaking at the opening of the empowerment in Abuja, chairman, governing council of the institute, Prof Wondimagegnehu Alemu noted that well informed senior and mid-level health leaders and managers are critical to successfully lead and influence performance of health programme implementation for effective prevention, early detection, and prompt response to public health threats to help attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He said, “In view of the global challenges in health sector as engendered by COVID 19 pandemic, the institute notes the need to strengthening the performance of Health professionals through enhanced leadership and management skills within the challenging global health environment.
The limited resources available in the health sector of African countries also calls for effective management based on good leadership”.
Explaining the rationale for the training, registrar of the institute, Mr Ayodele Bankole James said that leadership crisis in the Nigeria’s public health sector can only be overcome by continue training of the health workers.
To close the knowledge gaps, James added that health personnels were drawn from various government health institutions to brainstormed of the way forward for better management of public health services in the country.
Mr James said, “There are challenges of leadership crisis in Nigeria and across Africa and if we don’t get it right in terms of leadership and management, the problem in the sector will linger, so we in the institute felt we should be able to address that problem of leadership crisis.
To achieve this, stakeholders in this sectors are invited to the programme, from Federal Ministry of Health, the State Ministry of Health, the hospital management, national primary health care and NCDC.
So there is need for us to discuss and find a way forward as we invited professionals to share their experiences and at the end of the programme, the trainees will be equipped to be able to take over leadership positions in their various organizations.”
