The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reaffirmed its commitment to improving maternal health outcomes through strengthened training, structured supervision and the deployment of digital tools across primary healthcare facilities.
The Mandate Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe announced this at the 2025 Task Shifting Symposium in Abuja, where she emphasised that evidence must increasingly guide policy reforms in the territory’s health sector.
Delivering a keynote address titled “Bridging Research and Policy: The Role of Primary Health Research in Advancing Maternal Healthcare Delivery,” Dr Fasawe said recent studies, including research from the University of Oxford, provide important insights into the challenges faced by frontline health workers.
According to her, “primary healthcare centres remain the first point of contact for pregnant women but suffer from chronic workforce gaps, uneven staff distribution and an increasing workload on available health workers.”
Dr Fasawe highlighted task shifting as a globally recognised strategy for expanding access to life-saving maternal services.
“When properly implemented task shifting reduces delays in emergency care, strengthens continuity of antenatal and postnatal services, and expands the reach of skilled providers,” she said.
Dr Fasawe stressed that primary health research remains essential for shaping responsive and accountable policies, she added that “Research is the bridge between vision and impact.”
She announced that the FCTA is already enhancing its PHC system through expanded training and supportive supervision, clearer competency-based task allocation, improved work environments, telehealth-supported clinical decision-making and stronger integration of community health workers.
“Effective task shifting is not about giving more work to lower cadres. It is about equipping, protecting and supporting them to deliver safe, high-quality care,” she said.
Dr Fasawe urged stakeholders to adopt research findings to strengthen maternal care.
“If Nigeria must reduce maternal mortality, policy must reflect the lived realities of frontline workers. Let us build a system where no woman dies while giving life,” she said.
Presenting findings from his doctoral research, Honorary Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford, Dr Francis Ayomoh, said “task shifting has become unavoidable due to acute workforce shortages within primary healthcare.”
Ayomoh described Nigeria’s PHC workforce as “dangerously fragile,” revealing that up to 50 per cent of PHC workers in the FCT serve as volunteers who depend on facility stipends rather than government salaries.
He urged the government to prioritise human resource financing, employ available lower-cadre workers and invest in continuous training and supportive supervision.
“Task shifting is a necessity, not a choice. But the system cannot afford to sacrifice quality for access,” he said.
Ayomoh also expressed concern about the ongoing strikes in the health sector, describing the impact as “severe and deeply negative,” as many residents either turn to private facilities, consult unregulated providers or forgo care entirely.