Minister seeks payroll reforms to boost community health workforce

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, has urged African governments to “strengthen domestic financing, reform payroll systems and implement national plans to accelerate the expansion of the continent’s community health workforce to two million by 2030.”

Salako made the call on Thursday at a high-level ministerial gathering on community health in Abuja, where African countries, continental institutions and development partners deliberated on strategies to strengthen community-based healthcare delivery.

He said the meeting should produce concrete commitments on funding, payroll reforms, policy measures and implementation plans, stressing that the decisions taken would have significant implications for the continent’s health systems.

“Distinguished delegates, our time together here this afternoon is limited. But the decisions before us are consequential,” the minister said.

He urged participants to make the most of the meeting by agreeing on practical measures to accelerate progress towards the 2030 target.

Salako outlined four key outcomes expected from the deliberations, including a shared understanding of the urgency of the target, consideration of national implementation plans and financing commitments, concrete domestic commitments, and endorsement of country roadmaps and continental priorities.

“By the close of our deliberation today, I would like to see us achieve four important outcomes,” he said.

The minister said participating countries should commit to developing or updating their national community health plans within the next 12 to 18 months, while outlining specific measures to improve financing, payroll systems and policy implementation.

He said the deliberations should also establish a common position among African Union member states, the African Union Commission, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and development partners on the need to expand the community health workforce.

According to him, the initiative reflects the mandate of the African Union champion, President Bola Tinubu, and the collective commitment of continental institutions and development partners.

Salako further urged delegates to endorse the continental priorities and country roadmaps as the basis for subsequent action and agree on a message to be conveyed to African heads of state and government.

He said the meeting should also finalise the Abuja Communiqué for adoption at the political segment scheduled for Friday, October 30.

The minister described the launch of the continental implementation plan by Nigeria’s Vice-President as a significant milestone in Africa’s collective efforts to strengthen community health systems.

He thanked delegates for their cooperation following adjustments to the programme to accommodate the launch.

“On behalf of the Nigerian government, (I) take responsibility for this alteration, which is necessitated by the opportunity to accommodate the continental launch of the implementation plan by the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

Salako added that the Federal Government appreciated the patience and goodwill demonstrated by participants.

“We are deeply grateful to all delegates and partners for the patience that you have shown, for the cooperation and the goodwill shown in making the launch a reality,” he said.

The meeting is also expected to disseminate two continental instruments: the Continental Community Health Programme Scorecard and a standardised continental polyvalent community health worker curriculum.

The instruments are intended to strengthen monitoring, harmonise training standards and promote accountability as countries work towards the 2030 target.

Earlier, the Acting Deputy Director-General of the Africa CDC, Dr Raji Tajudeen, who represented the agency’s Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya, called on African Union member states to strengthen domestic financing, payroll systems and national implementation plans.

Tajudeen said the ministerial meeting should translate technical consensus into political commitments and practical actions capable of improving healthcare delivery across the continent.

Africa CDC’s Continental Community Health Programme Acceleration Plan 2026–2030 estimates that 1,059,085 community health workers were deployed across Africa as of May 2026, against the target of two million by 2030.

The plan estimates that achieving the target under its ambitious investment scenario would require cumulative investment of about $28bn by 2030, equivalent to approximately $4.3bn annually through a phased financing approach.

It identifies domestic resource mobilisation, the formal integration of community health workers into national health systems and improved coordination of development partners’ financing as key priorities.

Emphasising the need for a more ambitious response to the continent’s healthcare challenges, Salako said, “I invite us to use this opportunity to translate technical consensus into political commitments and political commitment into action that deliver tangible results for our continent.”

The high-level forum brings together government representatives, health officials, continental institutions and development partners to advance a coordinated approach to strengthening Africa’s community health workforce.