Funmi Ogundare
Development Governance International (DGI) Consult, through the UNICEF-supported Enhancing Leadership, Governance and Management Capacities (ELGMC) project, has trained local government health managers and frontline health workers in Adamawa, Kwara and Sokoto States to strengthen primary healthcare delivery and improve maternal and child health outcomes.
The training focused on equipping health teams with practical leadership, management and problem-solving skills to improve the implementation of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) programmes.
Held in selected local government areas (LGAs) across the three states, the workshops addressed gaps identified through earlier facility assessments, with participants developing practical strategies to improve service organisation, resource management, accountability and decision-making.
Speaking at the opening of the training in Song LGA of Adamawa State, the Executive Chairman of the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ADSPHCDA), Dr Sulaiman Saidu Bashir, underscored the importance of strengthening leadership and management at the local government and facility levels.
He stressed the collective responsibility of health-sector stakeholders to ensure effective programme implementation and prevent avoidable deaths among women, newborns, children and adolescents.
The Chief Executive Officer of DGI Consult, Dr Gafar Alawode, said the intervention was designed to strengthen the capacity of health facility and LGA teams to identify and address challenges affecting service delivery.
“This is not only in Adamawa State but across health systems. The central purpose of the training is to strengthen the ability of facility and LGA teams to identify and solve problems encountered while delivering health services,” he stated.
Alawode added that the intervention would not only help participating facilities develop solutions to their immediate challenges but also generate practical approaches that could contribute to wider improvements across health facilities in the states.
During the workshops, participants examined challenges affecting service delivery and identified actions within their areas of responsibility to address them.
They also explored how programme data and results frameworks could be used to establish priorities, monitor performance and support evidence-based decisions.
Through group exercises and discussions, the health workers translated identified priorities into action plans with defined responsibilities, expected results and timelines.
The workshops also introduced participants to the whole–part–rest approach to problem-solving, which encourages teams to examine challenges comprehensively, identify actions within their control, determine the support required from other stakeholders and mobilise relevant partners to implement solutions.
An example of the approach was demonstrated at Primary Health Centre Yallabe in Wamakko LGA of Sokoto state, where collaboration with local health stakeholders helped address service delivery challenges.
Engagement with the nutrition focal person led to the facility being designated as a distribution point for ready-to-use therapeutic food, reportedly increasing patient turnout.
In addition, an official of the Sokoto State Primary Health Care Development Agency with health training from the community agreed to support the facility during busy immunisation and antenatal care sessions.
Speaking during the engagement in Gwadabawa LGA of Sokoto State, the Director of Health, Alhaji Usman Aliyu Shehu, urged participants to apply the lessons from the training in their daily work and remain focused on measurable results.
He said the training should be regarded as part of an ongoing improvement process rather than a stand-alone activity.
Participants, he added, should routinely review progress, identify emerging challenges and take corrective action to ensure that agreed priorities translate into tangible improvements at the facility level.
In Kwara State, the Director of Primary Health Care Services at the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KWSPHCDA), Dr. Oguntoye, expressed confidence that the intervention would strengthen health workers’ capacity to deliver quality services and improve health outcomes across the state.
He emphasised the importance of translating improved leadership and management into effective programme implementation, with facility teams better equipped to plan, coordinate and improve healthcare services.