DGI Consult and UNICEF train health workers to improve maternal Care in Nigeria

Funmi Ogundare Development Governance International (DGI) Consult trained local government health managers and frontline health workers in Adamawa, Kwara, and Sokoto States in Nigeria.

The training took place under the Enhancing Leadership, Governance and Management Capacities (ELGMC) project, which receives support from UNICEF. The initiative aims to improve primary healthcare delivery and outcomes for maternal and child health by providing teams with practical skills in leadership and problem-solving. The workshops addressed specific gaps found during previous facility assessments.

Participants worked on strategies to improve how they organize services, manage resources, and make decisions. The training specifically targeted the implementation of programs for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition, as well as programs to address gender-based violence. Health workers used a whole, part, rest approach to identify and solve problems. This method encourages teams to look at challenges comprehensively, determine what actions they can control, and identify which partners they need to mobilize for support.

For example, at Primary Health Centre Yallabe in Wamakko LGA of Sokoto State, workers collaborated with local stakeholders to turn the facility into a distribution point for therapeutic food. This change reportedly increased the number of patients who visited the center.