The Programme for Equitable Expansion of Community-Based Health Workers (PEECH) has unveiled plans to train 44,000 community health workers across 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of efforts to strengthen primary healthcare services and expand access to quality healthcare in Nigeria.
The Project Director of PEECH, Dr Anddy Omoluabi, disclosed this during a presentation to the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, in Awka, saying the programme would run from February 2026 to July 2028.
Omoluabi explained that the initiative would combine workforce training with institutional reforms aimed at improving the delivery of community-based healthcare services.
“The programme is designed to build the capacity of community health workers while strengthening supervision, mentoring, data management, monitoring and governance systems that support their work,” he said.
He noted that the intervention would also reinforce local government health authorities and state schools of health technology to ensure sustainable management of community health programmes.
According to him, the project supports Nigeria’s long-term healthcare agenda, which seeks to create 600,000 paid community health worker jobs for young people between the ages of 18 and 35, extend primary healthcare services to 50 million people and maintain a workforce retention rate of 90 percent.
Omoluabi said the initiative would also provide career development opportunities, with about 40 per cent of participating health workers expected to transition into higher education or formal employment in the health sector within five years.
“Our goal is to transform community health work from a largely volunteer service into a structured, professional and paid workforce that offers sustainable career opportunities,” he added.
He further stated that the programme would prioritise the inclusion of women, young people, persons with disabilities and internally displaced persons in its implementation.
The project director disclosed that preparatory activities, including baseline assessments, workforce profiling, local government readiness evaluations, stakeholder engagement and the development of implementation tools, had already been completed.
He stated that PEECH had partnered with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to strengthen coordination and implementation at the grassroots.
The next phase of the programme, he said, would focus on supporting states to recruit and train community health workers while improving the capacity of local government health authorities and state schools of health technology.
Responding, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to collaborating with PEECH to improve healthcare delivery.
“Anambra State is committed to digitising primary healthcare to improve health data management, strengthen service delivery and promote evidence-based planning and decision-making,” Obidike said.
He said the state’s digital health agenda aligns with Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s vision of building a modern, efficient and technology-driven healthcare system.
The commissioner assured the PEECH team of the government’s support for the successful implementation of the programme while emphasising that future commitments would be guided by evidence, stakeholder consultations and the priority healthcare needs of the state.
 has unveiled plans to train 44,000 community health workers across 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of efforts to strengthen primary healthcare services and expand access to quality healthcare in Nigeria.){kind=link}