The executive vice-chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, says effective leadership, a skilled health workforce and strong accountability systems are critical to improving primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

Ms Aig-Imoukhuede said this in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday. She said increased funding and infrastructural development alone would not guarantee better healthcare outcomes without the institutional capacity to translate investments into quality services for citizens.

She highlighted the challenges affecting primary healthcare delivery and the need for sustainable institutional reforms.

According to her, Nigeria’s healthcare system faces interconnected challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, workforce shortages, financing gaps, weak supply chains, and poor coordination.

She explained that health workers also needed essential medicines, equipment, reliable electricity, water and functional management systems to deliver effective services.

Ms Aig-Imoukhuede said the foundation’s approach to primary healthcare revitalisation in Edo was broader than renovating facilities, workforce development, access to essential medicines, technology, and community participation. She said communities should not be treated merely as beneficiaries of healthcare interventions but as stakeholders in service delivery, gaps and local needs.

She urged policymakers to prioritise making existing primary healthcare facilities functional rather than inaugurating numerous new initiatives without addressing persistent gaps and recommended investments in health workers and the basic conditions they need to function effectively, alongside accountability mechanisms to track expenditure, responsibilities, and improvements in service delivery.

She also said civil servants played a critical role in maintaining institutional knowledge and ensuring effective policies continued despite changes in political leadership.

She added that Nigeria’s long-term development would depend on attracting capable young people into public service and equipping them with relevant skills that support performance, innovation, creativity, and accountability.

Ms Aig-Imoukhuede said that with stronger institutions and capable leaders, public investments could translate into more reliable services and better outcomes for citizens.

(NAN)