Enhancing frontline health workers\u27 abilities to improve MNCH services in Bauchi State through task shifting/sharing

Frontline health workers (FLHWs), including nurses, midwives, community health extension workers, and community health officers, are healthcare providers with the greatest access to clients and patients, and provide initial care to persons in need of health services. In 2014, Nigeria’s 57th National Council on Health approved a task-shifting and sharing (TSS) policy for essential healthcare services as a promising strategy for improving access and efficiency in Nigeria’s health system. Subsequently, FLHWs in Nigeria have been trained for new roles and functions traditionally reserved for mid- or high-level cadres, to optimize available providers and their capacities. This brief reviews the strategy undertaken in Nigeria’s Bauchi state and concludes that optimizing the roles of FLHWs through TSS is a good solution for improving maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services and for addressing health system challenges. Other opportunities include widespread support for improving MNCH care and addressing the unmet need for care and uneven distribution of health professionals