President Bola Tinubu has called on African countries to strengthen investment in community health workers, with a target of employing two million frontline health personnel across the continent by 2030.
Tinubu, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, made the call on Friday in Abuja while formally launching the Community Health Programme Continental Acceleration Plan 2026–2030, involving 51 African countries and more than 30 partners.
The President, who serves as the African Union Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership, stressed that community health workers were indispensable to achieving universal health coverage and improving access to essential healthcare services.
He called for their legal recognition, reliable remuneration, adequate support and equitable deployment, noting that their contributions were critical to identifying maternal health risks, reaching unvaccinated children, collecting household health data and detecting disease outbreaks.
Tinubu said sustainable primary healthcare delivery across Africa would depend on building and adequately supporting a community health workforce capable of responding to the healthcare needs of underserved populations.
Speaking on behalf of the President, Shettima disclosed that Nigeria required an estimated 315,000 community health workers by 2030.
He said the Federal Government was addressing the workforce deficit through the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which includes plans to revitalise more than 17,000 primary healthcare centres, train 120,000 frontline health workers and employ 100,000 salaried community health workers by the end of 2028.
The Vice-President also urged African governments to strengthen domestic financing for community health programmes, warning against excessive dependence on external funding.
He called for nationally owned implementation plans, dedicated budgetary allocations and effective monitoring frameworks to ensure that commitments translated into measurable improvements in healthcare delivery.
Providing the continental perspective, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said the two-million-worker target builds on a 2017 African Union commitment, which has so far been achieved by just over half.
The agency estimated that Africa would require $4.3 billion annually to achieve the target, projecting that every $1 invested could generate up to $19 in economic and social benefits.
It described Nigeria’s commitment to employing 100,000 salaried community health workers as a significant contribution towards achieving the continental ambition.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, commended President Tinubu for approving Nigeria’s hosting of the high-level forum.
Salako described the initiative as an important step towards strengthening community health systems and advancing primary healthcare delivery across Africa.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Daju Kachollom S., mni, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening primary healthcare and expanding the community health workforce in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.
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In a vote of thanks, Kachollom acknowledged the leadership of Tinubu as African Union Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership, alongside the contributions of the African Union Commission, Africa CDC, development partners and other stakeholders.
She emphasised that sustained investment, effective partnerships and coordinated implementation would be critical to translating the plan’s objectives into improved health outcomes across the continent.
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