Nasarawa State Health Managers Embark on Capacity-Building Workshop

A four-day capacity-building workshop for Nasarawa State health managers and leaders is underway, with focus on harmonizing strategies to enhance healthcare service delivery.

The workshop Organized by the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health is in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as well as other Development Partners.

The workshop which brought together state health actors primary program and planning officers from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) aimed to develop robust and realistic annual operational plans to strengthen Nasarawa State health system.

Declaring the event open, State Health Commissioner Dr. Gaza Gwamna, represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr. John Damina, emphasized the need to drive initiatives and reforms in the health sector beyond infrastructure development and highlighted Federal Government’s efforts for introducing the Nigerian Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.

“All resources have been invested in building human capacity, and this capacity will enable leaders to drive all initiatives and reforms within the health sector”.

Facilitators including State SWAP Desk Officer Ann Joshua and Director of Health Planning & Research, Nasarawa State Ministry of Health Dr. Danjuma Baba Oyinaka outlined the workshop’s objective which is to formulate an effective budgetary baseline for the 2026 Annual Operational Plan.

“The AOP 2026 is just around the corner, and we are hopeful that this entire exercise will contribute to achieving the National Investment Approach nationwide”.

Dr Oyinaka “We are here to build the capacity of program officers across MDAs in the State, enabling them to cascade these mechanisms to lower-level care. Ultimately, this will ensure we develop plans that inform our budget process moving forward”.

Development partners, such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and others, reaffirmed their commitment to collaborating with the state government to achieve set goals.

Participants lauded the initiative, stating that it broadens their knowledge in designing actionable plans to deliver accessible healthcare across Nasarawa State.