Where We Work > Africa > Nigeria

Nigeria

Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria has an estimated 17.5 million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Through CapacityPlus, IntraHealth is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and partners on approaches to strengthen the social welfare workforce needed for the care of these children. The national response requires a skilled workforce targeting children who are affected by HIV/AIDS, chronic illness, and disability; in need of alternative family care, legal protection, and shelter; and in need of protection from abuse, neglect, and conflict. The existing social welfare workforce is spread across a wide range of areas and sectors—embracing education, health, nutrition, psychosocial support, economic assistance, shelter, and protection services—through a mix of formal and voluntary service networks, providers, and community-based organizations. However, the current National Plan of Action for OVC does not include a workforce strategy to plan, coordinate, and implement these combined efforts. To address this, CapacityPlus is currently supporting a technical team to lead the OVC workforce strengthening activities under the guidance of the National OVC Technical Coordination Group. CapacityPlus is also working with the West African Health Organization to support the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria to use IntraHealth’s iHRIS Qualify software to archive and maintain its registry of nurses and midwives.

IntraHealth’s previous work in Nigeria focused on strengthening family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) services. These efforts included training members of the Nigerian Private Midwives and Nurses Association in a Quality Improvement package designed to help them review the services they provide and address gaps in quality, and conducting a performance needs assessment in 2000 of FP/RH service delivery sites in three states as part of the government’s efforts to expand its family planning program. The assessment informed the design of USAID’s VISION program, in which IntraHealth provided expertise in applying the Performance Improvement approach to strengthen FP/RH services.  

Current Projects:

Past Projects:

  • PSP-One (funded by USAID, led by Abt Associates)
  • VISION (funded by USAID, led by EngenderHealth)
  • PRIME II (funded by USAID, led by IntraHealth)