Funmi Ogundare
The Adamawa State Government has announced plans to expand the leadership, governance and management capacity-strengthening programme for health workers to all 21 local government areas and health facilities across the state.
The Executive Chairman, Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ASPHCDA), Dr. Suleiman Saidu Bashir, disclosed this when he received a team from Development Governance International (DGI) Consult, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Gafar Alawode, following a Local Government and facility Leadership, Governance and Management Capacity (LGMC) training in Song Local Government Area.
Bashir said the state was interested in ensuring that different cadres of health workers benefit from the training, particularly frontline personnel, noting that the programme would strengthen their leadership and management capabilities.
“There is the need to train different cadres of management staff on leadership. We are also desirous of scaling the training to all LGAs and facilities. We will collaborate with UNICEF and DGI to work out the modalities for scaling the training,” he said.
He added that the state government hoped to include the training in its 2027 annual operational plan and take further steps towards funding its implementation.
The programme is being implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with DGI Consult, under the Enhancing Leadership, Governance and Management Capacities (ELGMC) project, a component of the Strengthening Access to Reproductive and Adolescent Health (SARAH) project, jointly implemented by UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
In his remarks, Alawode commended the Adamawa government for its decision to scale up the capacity-strengthening initiative, saying it demonstrated the state’s acceptance of the ELGMC component of the SARAH project.
He stated: “The state’s commitment provided an opportunity to build on the progress made so far and achieve impact on a larger scale.”
He expressed DGI’s readiness to work with the government on modalities for expanding the programme.
Similarly, the state Commissioner for Health, Chubado Muhammed Jada, during a separate meeting with the DGI team, expressed the government’s readiness to work with UNICEF and DGI to ensure the success of the health workforce capacity-enhancement project.
The DGI team had visited the state to train health workers from two supported facilities in Song LGA, ward development committee chairmen and LGA RMNCAH+N supervisors.
Participants were trained in basic leadership, governance and management competencies, with emphasis on problem-solving using the whole-part-rest approach.
The training also focused on developing solutions to gaps identified through a baseline assessment conducted at the beginning of the project.
Beyond the training, Adamawa State is collaborating with DGI on Human Resources for health policy reforms, including the health workers’ exit replacement standing order and rural posting allowance.