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Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Johnson and Johnson Global Health, Convene Co-Creation Workshops Addressing Identified Gaps in Nursing and Midwifery Profession in Nigeria


This week, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the Johnson and Johnson Foundation, Medicaid Cancer Foundation, the Real Visionaries Initiative, supported by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa convenes a 2-day co-creation workshop taking place in Abuja and Lagos on the 4th to 5th and 7th to 8th of April 2022 respectively. This ongoing Co-creation Workshop seeks to address the gaps in oncology nursing, mental health nursing and midwifery education in Nigeria; Developing a road map to address improvements in nursing and midwifery in the 2 geo-political zones of South West and North Central Nigeria.

The Co-Creation Workshops welcomed the participation of strategic global and national stakeholders such as the Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Global Health Advocate, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki; the Founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation, Her Excellency Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu; the Director Global Community Impact Africa of Johnson and Johnson Global Health, Laura Nel; the Global Programmes Director for Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Charles Ameh; the Director of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Morenike Alex-Okoh; and representatives from the Association of Psychiatrist of Nigeria, Nigeria Cancer Society, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, The West African College of Nursing as well as representation from the North Central and South West geopolitical zone and the Federal Capital Territory.

Dr Charles Ameh the Global Programmes Director for Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Laura Nel the Director Global Community Impact Africa of Johnson and Johnson Global Health

In his remarks, the Global Programmes Director for Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Charles Ameh, commented: “At the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, we believe that our partners in the global south understand the challenges within the health systems and we are more than happy to facilitate the discussions to bring solutions to these challenges. We believe that the health workers are the centre of the health systems spectrum and therefore require proper training, deployment and retention in the three focal areas of this workshop - oncology nursing, mental health nursing and midwifery.”

In her remarks, the Director of Global Community Impact Africa of Johnson and Johnson Global Health, Laura Nel, commented: “The Johnson and Johnson Global Health is committed to working with local partners to create systems that support community-based health structures, by equipping nurses and midwives to promote a community change in health-seeking behaviour. We are constantly looking to understand and support the needs of health workers to help them perform at their best to meet the demands of an ever-changing world. At Johnson and Johnson Global Health, we believe in the expertise of our partners that we work with, and we are ready to facilitate the processes needed to enable our partners to function optimally.”

Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki the Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Global Health Advocate

A cross-section of participants during the breakout sessions

In her keynote address, Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki reiterated the role of midwifery in delivering respectful maternal care, with midwives being capable of providing 87 percent of care required by mothers and newborns. She commented: “Improving the capacity of healthcare workers, especially nurses and midwives, to provide respectful care on oncology and mental health, is key to improving the health service delivery within the country. Nursing and midwifery are likely to make the most significant contribution to achieving SDG 3 in the areas of mental health, oncology, and maternal-newborn health. The Wellbeing Foundation Africa has worked with the federal and regional governments of Nigeria to improve the training, working conditions and remuneration of midwives, as well as deploying midwives to underserved, rural areas of the country. Through our MamaCare360 Antenatal and Postnatal Education programme, we have continued to advocate for increased midwifery care in reducing maternal mortality during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum periods. In 2018, we also launched the Wellbeing Foundation Africa's Rapid Assessment of Cancer Prevention and Treatment In Nigeria Report; a research project that highlighted the critical level of cancer in Nigeria and the roadmap to mitigating the cancer scourge in the country.”


The President, Wellbeing Foundation Africa also emphasised that Mental Health is a valid health condition deserving of inclusion in the National Health Strategy at every tier of clinical and community-based health care. Taking the opportunity to highlight and champion an important push for the assent of the Bill to repeal the Lunacy Act to Establish A Mental Health Department To Promote & Protect The Rights Of Persons With Mental Health Conditions And Persons With Intellectual, Psychosocial or Cognitive Disabilities, And To Provide For The Enhancement And Regulation Of Mental Health Services In Nigeria, she stated that:

“This work stream will provide direction for a coherent and unified response to the delivery of mental health services in Nigeria; promote and protect the fundamental human rights and freedom of all persons with mental health conditions and ensure a better quality of life through access to an integrated, well-planned, effectively organised and efficiently delivered mental health care services.”

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