The National Health Fellowship Programme (NHF), a presidential initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare designed to strengthen leadership, accountability and service delivery in Nigeria’s health sector, has commenced interviews for its second cohort in Enugu State.
The programme, which deploys one health fellow to each local government area, focuses on equipping young professionals with leadership and management skills to improve health systems, particularly at the grassroots and primary health care levels.
Speaking during the interview exercise, the Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said the fellowship has become a strategic tool for deepening accountability and improving oversight of health programmes across the state.
“Starting from last year, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, under our coordinating minister, Professor Adebate, introduced the National Health Fellowship Programme to improve leadership and accountability by assigning one fellow to each local government area,” Ugwu said.
According to him, Enugu State successfully implemented the first cohort and is now recruiting at least 17 fellows for the second cohort to cover all local government areas in the state.
“We are working closely with our partners, academics, traditional rulers and international development partners to ensure that the selection process is transparent and strictly merit-based,” he said. “As a state, we provide the enabling environment to ensure that the programme succeeds.”
Ugwu explained that the fellows would serve as the eyes of the state government at the local level, supervising health programmes, strengthening accountability and reporting directly to both state and federal authorities.
“With major health activities ahead—immunisation campaigns, implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Programme, and the construction and operationalisation of primary health centres in every ward—the fellows will play a critical role this year,” he added.
Earlier, the SWAp Desk Officer for the Enugu State Ministry of Health, Ewo Francisca Ujunwa, explained that the physical interviews followed an extensive national screening and shortlisting process.
“The applicants had already undergone a rigorous national selection process before this stage. What we are doing now is the first physical interview to ensure that the most suitable candidates are selected for each of the 17 local government areas,” Ujunwa said.
She stressed that fairness and transparency remain central to the process, noting that interviewers do not deliberate collectively on applicants’ scores.
According to her, successful fellows would be equipped with leadership and management skills required to strengthen health systems at the grassroots.
“They will be deployed to primary health centres across the local governments to carry out mystery shopping exercises. This will help us get a realistic picture of what the health system looks like on the ground,” she explained.
Ujunwa added that the state government would collaborate closely with the fellows to achieve the objectives of the programme, while her role is to ensure effective coordination between state and federal authorities. She said a total of 17 fellows would emerge from the process.
Applicants participating in the interview expressed optimism about the programme and their willingness to contribute to improving health care delivery in their communities.
One of the applicants, Isienyi Casmir, said the fellowship presents an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to strengthening primary health care in Nigeria.
“I want to contribute significantly to improving the health system of primary health centres through health education, community engagement, policy support and advocacy,” he said.
Another applicant, Agumba Promise, from Ugbawka in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, said she applied because the programme aligns with her passion for community-based health development.
“The fellowship is targeted at strengthening primary health care services at the grassroots, and that is something I am deeply interested in,” she said.
She added that if selected, she would focus on improving health education, noting that many community members fail to utilise available health services due to lack of awareness.
Udeani Cynthia Nneka from Agbogugu in Awgu Local Government Area also described the interview process as thorough and rigorous, expressing confidence in having the requisite experience to contribute to improved health care delivery at the community level if selected.
The National Health Fellowship Programme is expected to further strengthen accountability, supervision and service delivery within Nigeria’s health system, with Enugu State positioning itself to maximise the impact of the second cohort based on lessons learned from the first.
