Nigeria Tasks WAHO on Integration of Digital Health, AI in Training Curricula

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Nigeria has asked the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) to integrate research, digital health, artificial intelligence, and innovative learning approaches into the training curricula for health professionals in West Africa.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, gave the charge in Abuja at the 11th Statutory Meeting of Regional Council for Health Professionals Education of WAHO.

Pate said the increasing complexity of health challenges in the region, including emerging infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, health emergencies, workforce shortages, and migration underscored the urgent need for competent, resilient, and adequately distributed health workforce.

WAHO, the regional council for health professionals’ education, was created by ECOWAS Health Ministers in 2012 as the sole council for regional accreditation of health professions training, with members including accredited professional colleges, deans of faculties, and national regulatory bodies.

Pate was represented at the meeting by Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Ovuoraye John.

He said the quality of health systems depended fundamentally on competence and availability of health professionals, adding that investment in their education must remain strategic priority for achieving Universal Health Coverage.

The minister stated, “WAHO’s leadership in harmonising health professionals’ education is critical. I encourage the council to strengthen competency-based curricula, accreditation and quality assurance, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, faculty development, and institutional collaboration.”

He added, “We must also integrate research, digital health, artificial intelligence, and innovative learning approaches into professional education to ensure that our graduates are equipped to respond to evolving healthcare needs.”

Pate said Nigeria recognised human resources for health as a central pillar of the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and ongoing health sector reforms, with commitment to strengthen training institutions, improve professional standards, address workforce shortages and maldistribution, and promote better working conditions, career development ,and retention strategies.

He said the objective must go beyond producing more health professionals to ensuring right competencies were developed and qualified professionals were equitably deployed where most needed.

He said health education systems must respond to emerging realities, including digital transformation, telemedicine, AI, climate-related health challenges, and public health emergencies, with greater emphasis on epidemiology, infection prevention and control, emergency preparedness, and One Health approach.

He urged the council to review progress, address challenges, and agree on practical, measurable and time-bound actions to accelerate regional harmonisation, stressing that success must be reflected in effective implementation and tangible improvements in quality of health professionals’ education.

In his welcome remarks, Director-General of WAHO, Professor Palokinam Pitche, said human resources in health were at the heart of health systems, stating that without them there are neither health centres, nor clinics, or hospitals.

Pitche referred to the regulatory frameworks guiding WAHO, including Article 3 of WAHO Creation Protocol –  the Dakar Convention on recognition and equivalency of diplomas, and resolutions on harmonisation of training curricula adopted in Abuja in 2006.

He said despite efforts by member states, the implementation of strategies had been slow, with variable results, while issues of health professions policy, relevance of education programmes, continuing professional development, inter-professional conflicts, and retention had not been adequately addressed.

He said two results were expected from the meeting –  finalisation of proposals for recognition and equivalency of diplomas in WAHO space, and finalisation of regional action plan on training in priority areas of human resources for health.

He also said WAHO will launch an evaluation of human resource development programmes in 2027 to generate evidence on strengths, gaps, and future directions.

The Regional Council for Health Professionals Education (RCHPE) is the sole council established for the regional accreditation of all training of health professions of different categories and disciplines in the ECOWAS sub-region.

Speaking on the objectives of setting up the council, Head of Training and Human Resources for Health at WAHO, Joseph Olorunda, said its role was to: establish standards for training health professionals with regular reviews to ensure that the harmonised curricula for the training of health professionals conformed to regional standards

According to Olorunda, the council is also mandated to accredit programmes and institutions in the ECOWAS region for the training of health professionals, in partnership with relevant bodies, and conduct advocacy with governments of member states for the political commitment to strengthen the training of health professionals.

He said one of the key deliverables of the meeting was review of the draft guidelines for the harmonisation of university education systems in the ECOWAS region.