Nigeria's Vice-President Shettima targets 100,000 health workers

The Federal Government of Nigeria is targeting the employment of 100,000 salaried community health workers by 2027 to strengthen primary healthcare delivery and improve the welfare of health workers. Vice-President Kashim Shettima announced this initiative during the launch of the Community Health Programme Continental Acceleration Plan 2026–2030 in Abuja.

He emphasized the importance of community health workers in disease surveillance, maternal healthcare, immunization, and outbreak detection. Shettima noted that Nigeria's community health workforce is currently below the estimated requirement of 315,000 workers by 2030.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu has secured over $2.2 billion for health sector reforms, aiming to revitalize over 17,000 primary healthcare centers and train 120,000 frontline health workers. The continental plan anticipates an investment of about $28 billion through 2030, with a significant portion allocated to recurrent expenditure.