FG, Africa CDC, Stakeholders Seek to Prioritise Community Health Workforce

• To deliver 2 million workers by 2030 Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The federal government, Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and other continental partners have canvassed urgent prioritisation of community health workforce, warning that Africa’s health sovereignty will remain an illusion unless community health workers were recognised, paid and planned for. They expressed confidence that under the Continental Acceleration Plan 2026-2030, to be launched Friday, Africa could cross the two-million health workers’ deployment target set for November 2029 if member states delivered reported plans. The call was made at High-Level Forum on Fit-for-Purpose Health Workforce: Accelerating Africa’s Progress Towards Two Million Community Health Workers by 2030, hosted by Nigeria, in collaboration with Africa CDC and UNICEF in Abuja. Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, represented by Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. John Ovayoru, said the meeting was not to admire the problem but to solve it through measurable interventions. Salako said, “We are here for very serious business. The health workforce Africa needs is the workforce that will move us forward. About 80 per cent of health conditions occur at community level and do not require consultant surgeon. Often, communities simply need a community health worker who can identify diseases early, intervene quickly, and refer appropriately.” Salako said Nigeria was proud to host the forum together with Africa CDC and UNICEF, and thanked the 55 member states present. He recalled that in 2016, Heads of State committed to training and deploying two million community health workers, reaffirmed in 2017, and renewed in February 2026 at 39th AU Summit convened by President Bola Tinubu and at Accra Extraordinary Summit in July. He stated, “The community health worker is the face of the health system for millions. She vaccinates child, follows pregnant woman, treats malaria at the doorstep, and raises alarm when outbreak begins. “When she stops epidemic in the village before it reaches the city, that is health sovereignty in action.” Salako warned that as of May 2026, Africa had only 1.06 million community health workers deployed, roughly half of the target, with four years left. Only 68 per cent of member states formally recognise them, only half pay them through government wage bill, and 85 per cent rely on donors for half or more of programmes at a time development assistance for health has fallen 40 per cent since 2021, he said. The minister said, “A workforce that is not recognised, paid or planned for is a workforce that cannot be retained.” He expressed confidence that Continental Acceleration Plan 2026-2030, to be launched Friday, showed Africa could cross the two-million target by November 2029 if member states delivered reported plans, adding that investment case is $4.3 billion per year with $19 return for every dollar. For Nigeria, with over 240 million people, Salako said only about 93,000 community health workers were deployed, fewer than four per 10,000, but under Renewed Hope Agenda and Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative government was revitalising PHCs so that every ward had functional facility. He said with clear national policy, master registry, and domestic financing through BHCPF, Nigeria will continue to lead as AU Champion. He gave three tests for delegates: leave with country-owned plan that finance minister can put into next budget not waiting on donors; commit to reforms only government can make, including recognition and inclusion in wage bill; and ensure Abuja Communique records specific, dated, measurable commitments. Representing Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya, Special Representative, Professor Aliko Baba Ahmed, said the turnout of 55 member states and 36 partners was a statement that community health workers were central to health security agenda, especially as the continent battled Ebola outbreak affecting about 10,000 people and killing close to 5,000 across four countries including Nigeria. He said health sovereignty rested on five pillars: surveillance, workforce development, domestic financing, digital transformation and local manufacturing, saying almost 70 per cent of medical products are imported. Ahmed stated, “Community health workers are link across all five pillars. Without them, we do not have structure to make health sovereignty real. They detect problems before escalation, protect communities through immunisation and connect people to institutions.” He warned that more than 80 per cent of community health programmes were donor-dependent and only five or six countries funded substantially from own resources, calling for national budget lines and inclusion in wage bills. Co-Executive Director Africa Frontline First Ms. Juliet Odogwu said her organisation’s Catalytic Fund had supported professionalisation of over 100,000 workers since 2023 and targeted 200,000 by 2028, towards two-million goal, stressing that financing must be sustainable. IFRC Head of Delegation, Dr. Asha Mohammed, said Continental Acceleration Plan recognised that resilient systems were built through empowered communities, pledging Red Cross network to support training and deployment. Amref Health Africa Director Mieko Makai gave stark human face, saying health surveillance assistants in Malawi can manage only three days before borrowing when salaries delayed up to three months. Interviews with 155 community health workers across five countries showed late payment was top reason for wanting to leave. She said, “Recruiting two million is a question of numbers. Keeping them is a question of whether this is a job a young person can build life on,” calling for timely pay, visible career pathways, and respect. UNICEF Global Health Practice Director, Ms. Helga Fogstad, said professionalising community health workforce could help reduce 2.3 million preventable new-born deaths and support 45 African countries off track on child mortality, with $19 return per dollar. Fogstad announced the launch of Continental Community Health Scorecard and Learning Platform to track baselines. Chair of Community Health Delivery Partnership Technical Working Group, Dr. Richard Kabanda, said the forum was member states’ baby and must deliver three outcomes: formal embedding of CHWs in workforce frameworks, unified standards for training and equipment, and move from policy to implementation. Stakeholders agreed that time for commitments was over and time for funded, country-owned action was now.