The Mandate Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, has commended the National Health Fellows Programme for significantly strengthening healthcare delivery in the territory, citing improved data management, manpower support and better grassroots services.
Fasawe spoke on Monday in Abuja during interviews for the second cohort of the National Health Fellows, noting that the fellows have, over the past year, enhanced health planning through efficient data collection, transmission and use.
According to her, the fellows have become critical to project implementation across the FCT health sector.
“Health fellows have helped us tremendously in all our projects. They have made data collection, uploading, transmission and feedback more fluid and more efficient in the FCT,” she said.
She explained that the programme has also promoted effective task shifting, with fellows now handling responsibilities previously reserved for doctors, matrons and senior supervisors.
“We now know what more they can do. Some of the tasks we used to wait for doctors or senior officers to do are now being allocated to the fellows,” Fasawe added.
The mandate secretary noted that the fellows undergo intensive training and are selected from the communities where they serve, a strategy she said has improved acceptance, communication and overall impact.
“They understand the terrain, speak the language and know the health-seeking behaviour of the people, and that has helped us achieve better results,” she said.
Expressing concern over the shortage of health workers, Fasawe called for an expansion of the programme in 2026 to support primary healthcare delivery, while thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Health and the FCT Minister for their support.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the FCT Administration, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Babagana Adam, said the programme has started yielding results but stressed that the current number of fellows is inadequate.
“The FCT is disadvantaged with only six fellows, one per area council. Abuja Municipal Area Council alone is vast in both landmass and population. Six fellows cannot effectively cover our 62 wards,” Adam said.
He disclosed that the FCT is advocating for an increase to at least 18 fellows to improve coverage and impact across the territory.
Adam also revealed progress in the upgrade of primary healthcare centres, noting that over 300 PHCs exist across the six area councils, with improvements ongoing under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
On health insurance coverage, he said the FCT exceeded its target by enrolling over 36,000 residents, surpassing the projected 25,000.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) Team Lead for Health Systems and Services, Dr. Mary Brentwell, described the National Health Fellows selection process as transparent and credible.
“We are here as observers. The panel is balanced, the questions are fair and the candidates possess diverse skill sets that can meaningfully contribute to the health sector,” she said.
Earlier, the Acting Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics and FCT SWAP Desk Officer, Dr. Teresa Ekaete Nwachukwu, said the programme was designed to groom young leaders for primary healthcare and is driven strictly by merit.
She explained that the selection process is seamless and free of political influence, noting that for each local government, one fellow will eventually be selected.
“In the FCT, we have six area councils, so six fellows will emerge from 18 shortlisted candidates,” Nwachukwu said, adding that the fellows will help identify gaps in primary healthcare delivery and link community challenges with relevant authorities.
One of the candidates, Saidu Bello Karshi from Abuja Municipal Area Council, described the interview process as seamless and expressed optimism about being selected.
The Abuja interviews form part of a nationwide exercise to select the second batch of National Health Fellows aimed at strengthening primary healthcare delivery across the country.
