Categories
Abuja, Nigeria – 1 August 2025
Last week in Abuja, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and global advocate for maternal, newborn, and child health, delivered a keynote goodwill address at the high-level Dissemination Meeting of the Global Health Workforce Programme Local Grant 130, as it concluded its costed extension phase.
Convened by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine as Lead Partner, in collaboration with the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, the dissemination meeting marked the successful conclusion of a transformative phase in GHWP LG130, advancing emergency obstetric care capacity across Nigeria.
In her remarks, Her Excellency Mrs Saraki reflected on the initiative’s far-reaching accomplishments, stating:
“Through GHWP LG130, we have trained 266 health professionals, including 85 consultant obstetricians, 168 senior registrars, 9 registrars, and 4 medical officers, in life-saving emergency obstetric and surgical skills. Critically, 82 of these were NPMCN faculty examiners, thereby strengthening both frontline clinical practice and postgraduate mentorship for future generations. Yet the true legacy lies in the ripple effect: peer-to-peer learning, mentorship cascades, and systemic improvements in clinical outcomes across all six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.”
Delivered through the Advanced Obstetrics and Surgical Skills (AOSS) competency-based curriculum, the programme has achieved national reach through regional training hubs in Gombe, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Enugu, Kano, Abuja, and Lagos. Two fully equipped Centres of Excellence, located at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, now serve as sustainable national assets for simulation-based training, offering advanced OSCE tools such as Lucy & Mum obstetric simulators and Resusci Baby QCPR units to reinforce clinical fidelity and competence.
Her Excellency Mrs Saraki highlighted the programme’s gender impact, highlighting that 98 of the trained health professionals were women.
“In a field where female leadership has historically faced barriers, this level of participation represents more than a statistic. It reflects an intentional shift towards inclusive excellence and ensures that the maternal care workforce reflects the lived realities of those it serves.”
Beyond its clinical scope, GHWP LG130 has also demonstrated leadership in policy alignment, communications, and advocacy. Under WBFA’s guidance, the programme’s outcomes were strategically amplified across national media and global platforms, including the World Health Assembly, the UK-Africa Health Summit, and the United Nations General Assembly, reinforcing Nigeria’s role as a leader in maternal health innovation. Over 50 communications outputs were disseminated across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X, reaching thousands and positioning the UK-Nigeria partnership as a replicable model of effective global health collaboration.
In her address, H.E. Mrs Saraki also affirmed the programme’s alignment with the Federal Ministry of Health’s Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMII), launched in 2023 to drastically reduce maternal deaths in high-burden states. She further connected GHWP LG130 to Nigeria’s commitment to the World Economic Forum’s Global Activator Network on Maternal Health, where she serves as a WEF Champion for Women’s Health.
“We are building not only a trained health workforce, but a resilient, responsive, and inclusive system, one that supports women’s health at every level and equips every facility to save lives in moments of critical need.”
As Nigeria prepares to transition from donor-supported programming to sustained national ownership, Her Excellency Mrs Saraki called for collective responsibility to embed this success within policy frameworks and budgetary commitments at the federal and state levels:
“Let us now engage governors, state commissioners, parliaments, and, crucially, First Ladies and political spouses, whose leadership within social development spheres can help institutionalise this model of continuous professional development. The time to act is now.”
In closing, H.E. Mrs Saraki expressed her deep appreciation to LSTM, NPMCN, Ducit Blue Solutions, and all implementing partners and trainees who contributed to the success of GHWP LG130:
“We have laid the foundation, and now we will drive the future of maternal and newborn health and wellbeing in Nigeria, ensuring that it is stronger, smarter, more equitable, and sustainably safeguarded for generations to come.”
The Global Health Workforce Programme is funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and managed by Global Health Partnerships (formerly THET), with in-country grant management provided by Ducit Blue Solutions. The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen health workforce resilience and accelerate progress towards universal health coverage across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
For interviews, further information, or access to programme materials, please contact:
Zelia Bukhari
Global Health Advocacy, Policy & Communications
H.E. Toyin Saraki Global Office & Philanthropy
zelia.bukhari@wbfafrica.org
The e-health check tool is available for free at https://covid19.wbfafrica.org/ and users can access real-time updates on how to stay connected, safe, and healthy during the pandemic on Instagram and Twitter @Wellbeing_PPMD, and @WellbeingPPMD on Facebook.
