Goodwill Statement delivered at the Global Health Workforce Programme Nigeria Sharing & Learning Event:

Esteemed Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Healthcare Leaders, Partners, and Advocates,

Good morning. As the Founder & President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, it is an honour to stand before you today at this pivotal Sharing and Learning Event of the Global Health Workforce Programme. I extend my gratitude to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Global Health Partnerships, Ducit Blue Solutions, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for their leadership in strengthening the health workforce in Nigeria.

The Global Health Workforce Programme is a transformative initiative designed to optimise, build, and strengthen the health workforce, supporting more resilient health systems post-pandemic and advancing progress towards Universal Health Coverage in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3. Through its Health Partnership Initiative, GHWP fosters cross-border learning and capacity strengthening, ensuring that health professionals are well-equipped to provide high-quality care where it is needed most.

A critical pillar of this initiative is the strengthening of Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care. Nigeria has one of the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the world, with a maternal mortality ratio of over 800 deaths per 100,000 live births and a neonatal mortality rate of 33 per 1,000 live births. These numbers highlight the urgency of our mission—to equip our healthcare workforce with the skills and resources necessary to save lives.

Our ongoing partnership between the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Wellbeing Foundation Africa in advancing training for resident doctors in Nigeria is already demonstrating tangible impact. Through GHWP, we have launched the Advanced Obstetric Surgical Skills competency-based training programme, integrated into the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria residency curriculum. This initiative is not just about training; it is about ensuring sustainability through Centres of Excellence in Lagos and Abuja, where faculty members are empowered to cascade knowledge and skills to obstetricians and gynaecologists for many future generations to come.

The AOSS training, structured as a 3-day intensive programme followed by a 2-day Training of Trainers module, provides resident doctors with hands-on experience in life-saving procedures such as emergency caesarean sections, postpartum haemorrhage management, and neonatal resuscitation. These skills are further reinforced through simulation-based learning and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations, ensuring competence and confidence in managing obstetric emergencies.

To our frontline healthcare workers here today, you are the heart of this effort. Your dedication to improving maternal and newborn care will have a lasting impact on families and communities across Nigeria. To our government and development partners, let us commit to ensuring that every trained doctor, midwife, and nurse has the resources and institutional support they need to sustain and scale up this progress.

Looking ahead, the success of this programme depends on sustained investment, national policy integration, and continued collaboration. We must ensure that the skills being imparted today translate into systemic improvements that endure long beyond this initiative. The GHWP has laid the foundation, but it is up to all of us to build upon it.

Once again, I extend my sincere appreciation to our partners and stakeholders for their unwavering commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s health workforce. May this event serve as a catalyst for deeper collaboration, knowledge exchange, and lasting change in our healthcare system.

Thank you.