The Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy is a national policy that was approved in May 2011 at the session of the 54th National Council of Health to reduce fragmentation and improve PHC performance thus contributing to better health outcomes. It aligns with the National Health Act (NHAct) of 2014. Since approval, implementation of the Policy was slow mainly because of low political commitment by subnational PHC actors.
Advocacy for the PHCUOR project, funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), was a three-year (Nov 2016 – Nov 2019) program intervention. We supported the Nigerian Governors’ Forum Secretariat through this advocacy project to stimulate the Governors’ interest and commitment to full implementation of this national PHCUOR policy in line with the National Health Act (NHAct).
We worked closely with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and various state-level health institutions (Ministry of Health (MOH), State Primary Health Care Development Agencies and Boards to develop relevant PHCOUR implementation guidelines and built the capacity of a core team in NPHDCA to support the national roll-out of implementation. Also, NHED contributed to the design, monitoring, and measurement of the implementation of the PHCUOR program using performance scorecards. Results were disseminated at the National Council of Health to mount pressure for implementation. By the end of the project, the Nigerian Governors had demonstrated full commitment to the policy, and over 75% of the states had implemented it to an advanced level.
Key Deliverables
- Capacity of the NGF Secretariat strengthened to effectively engage and advocate to governors on PHCUOR.
- NGF committed to the implementation of PHCUOR for enhanced efficacy and effectiveness of Primary Health Care systems.
- Strong partnership established between the NGF, FMOH, and NPHCDA on PHCUOR.
- Tools, guidelines and standards for advocacy and implementation of PHCUOR are developed and used at NGF.
Gallery of Advocacy Meetings
