By Philip Yatai
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says the National Health Fellows (NHF) programme is strengthening service delivery in FCT Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), through improved data management.
Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, stated this during the interview of candidates for the second cohort of the programme in Abuja on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first cohort of the NHF was inaugurated in early 2025 to transform the nation’s primary healthcare system.
The main goal is to cultivate a new generation of healthcare leaders capable of driving innovation and social accountability across the 774 local government areas in the country.
Fasawe said that the initiative had not only improved data management in primary healthcare centres in the last one year, but also impacted positively on manpower and improved service delivery.
“The fellows have, over the past year, played a key role in making healthcare planning more efficient through effective data collection and transmission, making feedback more fluid and efficient in the FCT.
“The fellows are now handling responsibilities that would normally require doctors, matrons or senior supervisors,” she said.
She explained that the fellows undergo intensive training and were deliberately selected from within the communities they serve, a move that improved acceptance and impact.
The mandate secretary appealed for more allocation of the fellows to FCT in the second cohort to bridge the shortage of health personnel.
“Human resources in health is a major concern. Initiatives like this gladden our hearts, but we need more to support primary healthcare delivery,” she said,
The Permanent Secretary in the secretariat, Dr Babagana Adam, equally noted the impact of the NHF programme, stressing that the FCT Administration was working to expand the number of the fellows to 18 for better coverage.
“We believe in this programme. That is why we are asking for more fellows to serve the people better,” he said.
Adam also disclosed that the FCT Administration had made progress in upgrading more than 300 PHCs across the six area councils, while improvements under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund was ongoing.
On health insurance, he said the FCT had exceeded its target by enrolling over 36,000 residents, more than the 25,000 target.
Also speaking, Dr Mary Brentwell, World Health Organization Team Lead for Health Systems and Services, lauded the credible and transparent selection process of the NHF programme.
Earlier, Dr Teresa Nwachukwu, acting Director, Health Planning, Research and Statistics, said that the programme was designed to groom young leaders for primary healthcare.
Nwachukwu, who is also the Sector-Wide Approach Desk Officer in FCT, described the selection process as “seamless”, free of godfatherism, stressing that the candidates were selected purely on merit.
She said that six fellows would be selected out of the 18 shortlisted candidates in FCT.
“The fellows are expected to identify gaps in primary healthcare delivery, collect and analyse data, and link community challenges with area councils, state and national authorities for timely solutions,” she said. (NAN)
Edited by Philip Yatai
