Shettima launches continental community health plan, pledges improved welfare for workers

Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the Community Health Programme Continental Acceleration Plan 2026–2030, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the welfare, legal recognition and remuneration of community healthcare workers in Nigeria.

Shettima launched the plan on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during the Continental High-Level Forum on a Fit-for-Purpose Health Workforce. He represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the event.

In his remarks, the Vice President stressed that community health workers play a critical role in strengthening primary healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved communities where access to medical facilities and professionals remains limited.

He said the Tinubu administration was determined to ensure that community healthcare workers received legal recognition, professional certification, reliable salaries, adequate supervision and clear career progression opportunities.

Shettima emphasised that fair, competitive and consistent remuneration was essential to retaining skilled personnel and building effective community health institutions across the country.

He also highlighted the contribution of community health workers to identifying maternal health risks, locating unvaccinated children, collecting household health data and detecting disease outbreaks at an early stage.

The Vice President announced that Nigeria was targeting the deployment of 100,000 salaried community health workers by 2027 as part of efforts to strengthen frontline healthcare services. He added that the administration’s Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative had secured more than $2.2 billion in commitments, with plans to revitalise over 17,000 primary healthcare centres and train 120,000 frontline health workers.

The continental plan seeks to accelerate progress towards the African Union’s target of deploying two million community health workers across Africa by 2030. According to Africa CDC, approximately 1.06 million community health workers had been deployed across the continent as of May 2026.

The plan identifies workforce development, sustainable financing, digital systems, improved service delivery, medical supplies and accountability as key priorities for strengthening community health programmes.

It estimates that achieving the ambitious workforce expansion target would require cumulative investment of about $28 billion by 2030, equivalent to approximately $4.3 billion annually through a phased financing approach. The investment is projected to generate up to $19 in economic and social benefits for every dollar spent.

Also speaking at the forum, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, called on African governments to strengthen domestic financing, reform payroll systems and develop practical national implementation plans to accelerate the expansion of community health services.

The Deputy Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Raji Tajudeen, also stressed the need for stronger political commitment and sustainable funding to address gaps in the continent’s community health workforce.

The initiative is expected to support efforts to improve access to essential healthcare, strengthen disease surveillance and build more resilient health systems across Nigeria and other African countries.

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