Nigeria

Report of Training Needs Assessment for Community Health Workers

One of the recommendations from a 2013 CapacityPlus assessment of PEPFAR-funded in-service training in Nigeria was to ensure broader access to new developments in knowledge and technology, as well as sustainability of training, by integrating the in-service training contents into preservice education curricula and continuing professional development programs. This assessment explored community health extension worker and community health officer perceptions of globally-accepted competency domains for public health practitioners across the areas of importance, and confidence in their ability to demonstrate those competencies. To corroborate findings at the domain level, the assessment also assessed these health workers at the individual skill/ability levels, which are mapped to the competency domain areas. Need scores were calculated for each competency domain and individual skill/ability levels. A need score ranking placed the need for computer and information technology access and skills as the top priority among health workers who participated in the study. Financial planning and management and public health science skills ranked a close second and third. Read more »

Preservice Education of Community Health Extension Workers, Nurses, and Midwives in Nigeria

Using a modified version of the CapacityPlus Bottlenecks and Best Buys approach, CapacityPlus assessed 19 institutions training targeted health cadres. The intent was to find areas where support by CapacityPlus could assist Nigerian training institutions to maximize the number of newly trained health workers produced between August 2012 and October 2013. Based on the findings, the assessment team recommended six possible activities for CapacityPlus support to schools of midwifery and health technology. (The project subsequently acted on these recommendations in close collaboration with Nigerian stakeholders.)

Nigeria’s Primary Health Care Training Institutions: Challenges and Progress

Nigeria is one of 57 countries defined by the World Health Organization as having a critical shortage of health workers. CapacityPlus undertook an assessment of Nigerian midwifery, health technology, and nursing schools to better understand the progress and challenges in producing greater numbers of competent and qualified health providers. Nineteen schools were assessed through focus group interviews and on-site evaluations. Presented at the 9th Annual Physician Workforce Research Conference in Alexandria, VA on May 2-3, 2013, this poster depicts the challenges that health care training institutions face in Nigeria, along with recommendations to overcome these challenges.