Posted on: Mon 05-05-2025

When the government continues to underfund and overlook the foundation of Nigeria’s healthcare system, the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) has chosen to do more than raise eyebrows—they’re raising solutions.

Determined to break the cycle of neglect and stagnation plaguing the country’s Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), newly sworn-in APHPN President, Dr. Terfa Kene, has unveiled a game-changing initiative: a virtual training programme specifically designed to equip frontline health workers in Nigeria’s most underserved regions with modern skills and knowledge.

This isn’t just a policy tweak—it’s a bold declaration that the status quo is no longer acceptable.

“Our healthcare workers are operating in the dark—both figuratively and literally,” said Dr. Kene. “We’re changing that.” And he means it. The association is setting up the APHPN Virtual School, with studios in Delta State and the Federal Capital Territory, to broadcast high-quality, continuous medical education into facilities that have long been ignored by national training initiatives.

This digital leap is not only overdue—it’s urgent. For far too long, PHCs have been reduced to little more than signposts and empty buildings. The failure to invest in them has left a gaping hole in Nigeria’s health system. APHPN is refusing to accept this as normal. Instead, they’re putting their weight—and their wallets—behind a multi-pronged rescue mission.

To back their digital ambitions, the association has set up APHPN Consultancy Services Limited (ACOSEL)—a body that will connect national and international expertise with struggling local institutions, using virtual tools to bypass the bureaucracy that so often kills momentum.

And the vision doesn’t stop at training. APHPN has committed to adopting and upgrading 222 Primary Healthcare Centres nationwide—six in every state. Why? Because if the government won’t lift PHCs from their current state of neglect, then someone has to.

From solar energy installations to comprehensive facility assessments, the plan is as thorough as it is ambitious. This is not a photo-op or political stunt. It’s a grassroots-driven solution backed by crowdfunding, grant-seeking, and calls to philanthropists—because waiting for budget allocations is no longer an option.

“We’ve criticized, we’ve advocated, we’ve waited—but the needle hasn’t moved,” said Dr. Kene with candid frustration. “We’re stepping in where others have stepped back.”

Dr. Augustine Ajogwu, Secretary General of the association, confirmed that every adopted facility will undergo rigorous assessment based on approved standards to determine real, data-driven needs—not assumptions or guesswork.

In an era when public trust in healthcare governance is dwindling, APHPN is offering not just a lifeline, but a model for how professional bodies can lead from the front. Their virtual training programme and PHC revitalization effort is nothing short of a counter-narrative to systemic failure—a bold step toward reclaiming the integrity of public health in Nigeria.

Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just about PHCs. It’s about restoring dignity, capability, and hope to a system that desperately needs all three.

---

---