Nigeria’s primary healthcare centres are increasingly unable to deliver quality services as severe staff shortages deepen, civil society leaders have cautioned. According to Dr. Ismaeel Danesi, Programme Manager of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), many facilities rely on as few as one to three workers to serve large patient loads—resulting in long queues and worsening health outcomes.
The roundtable highlighted a growing consensus that while community advocacy has transformed Nigeria’s primary healthcare infrastructure, severe staffing shortages pose a critical threat to service delivery and patient health across the country.
The event, organized by the AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) civil society networks—including the TB Network, NEPWHAN, and the Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN)—briefed journalists on the successes and challenges of community-led healthcare initiatives.
Dr Danesi explained that patients often wait for hours because of insufficient health workers, leading some to abandon care entirely. “This reduces health-seeking behaviour and diminishes the quality of care for those who remain,” he said, urging national and state governments to recruit more staff and address gaps in facilities.
He also noted that the COVID-19 Response Monitoring/Results Support for Strengthening Health Systems (C19RM/RSSH) grant, which supported community mobilization, equipment provision, facility renovations, and essential supplies, will end in December.
“Nigeria’s healthcare system will not collapse, but sustained progress depends on the country’s commitment to scaling and maintaining recent improvements,” stressing the need for domestic resource mobilization.
The civil society leaders highlighted the crucial role of community advocacy in supporting primary healthcare but warned that without urgent government action on staffing, many facilities will continue to struggle.
Lovelyn Agbo Gabriel, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at ACOMIN, said the project demonstrated how community-led monitoring can strengthen health systems. Communities now track service delivery, identify gaps, and accompany monitoring teams on advocacy visits, ensuring resources reach their intended facilities.
Gabriel cited a primary healthcare centre in Dutse, Jigawa State, which was small, dilapidated, and lacked electricity. Advocacy efforts led to its inclusion in the state’s upgrade plan. The renovated facility now features multiple wards, a solar system, running water, and improved infrastructure, significantly enhancing service delivery and health outcomes.
Teresa Laraba Jatau, Programme Manager at TB Network, noted that while the project reached 270 facilities across 21 states and spurred improvements through community-led monitoring, significant gaps persist. She said some philanthropists declined to support clinics outside their communities, and patients in certain states were still being charged for drugs meant to be free. Jatau warned that although the community-led model encourages ownership and sustainability, without sustained government action to recruit health workers and guarantee medicine availability, the gains recorded risk being reversed.
