Insecurity and Workforce Shortages Hinder Health Coverage

During the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the College of Health Sciences at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, stakeholders in Nigeria's health sector identified persistent insecurity, a shortage of healthcare workers, inadequate funding, and weak constitutional provisions as significant obstacles to achieving Universal Health Coverage. Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Dr.

Faruk Abubakar, announced a two-year compulsory service policy for health professionals trained on state scholarships to address manpower shortages. He noted the uneven distribution of health workers, with urban primary healthcare centres having up to 80 workers while rural centres often have only one.

Dr. Shehu Kakale, a former member of the House of Representatives, called for constitutional reforms to recognize healthcare as a fundamental right.

He criticized Nigeria's failure to meet the Abuja Declaration's goal of allocating at least 15% of national budgets to health. Additionally, Wamban Isa and Alhaji Nasiru Yahya Isa reported that nearly 40% of primary healthcare centres in Sokoto East face operational challenges due to bandit attacks.