The Eight Annual Meeting of the  Health Professional Associations organised by the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC)  under the PACFaH@Scale Project (2015-2022) and the Leadership Development Initiative (LDI)  funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation met on the 17^th of September 2024 to review the healthcare plans of the President Bola Ahmad Tinubu as part of efforts to chat a course for the coalition

Introduction
Between 2015-2022, the development Research and Projects Center (dRPC) leveraged funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen the capacity of over 100 health NGOs, with an in-depth focus on Health Professional Associations (HPAs).  Under PAS, HPAs convened annual meetings and were supported to carry out work in three key clusters:-

1) awareness creation activities to mobilize communities to access services;

2) policy advocacy to ensure social accountability in the health system; and

3) supporting government at national and state levels to implement new health policies.

SOGON, a leading HPA of the PAS project, is also implementing the HPA leadership development project, the LDI  (2022-2025), funded by the Gates Foundation and supported by dRPC.

After years of meaningful partnership with government in the PAS project at the national level and within states across Nigeria, the leadership of Health Professional Associations (HPAs) met in Abuja on 17^th September 2024, to review health policy updates and to fashion out new strategic roles for HPAs as advocates and partners for health systems strengthening.

Declaring the workshop open, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr. Salma Anas Ibrahim,  highlighted the pivotal role of Health Professionals in health policy ownership and decision-making. She stressed that placing health professionals at the forefront of policy discussions is vital for the sustainability of healthcare initiatives and urged Health Professional Associations (HPAs) in Nigeria to play a crucial role in supporting health policy reform and innovation. She highlighted the comparative advantages of HPAs generating data and informing health policy development and implementation. She emphasised HPAs representation at all levels of policy formulation and in technical working groups, ensuring inclusion in key thematic areas.

After several group-work sessions and panel presentations facilitated by health luminaries such as –  the Dr. Muhammed Lecky; and Dr. Olusesan Makinde, Managing Partner, Viable Knowledge Masters, the 23 representatives of the Health Professional Associations in attendance, concluded on the following note:

• That HPAs should actively seek representation and allocate resources to participate fully in government health implementation and reform committees at national and state levels. Health Professional Associations are primary champions of the health system which should proactively request for inclusion to share knowledge and insights of what can work and what is working
• That HPAs should establish dedicated policy desks, or units within their organisations to address policy-related issues effectively. Such units would focus on gathering data and evidence to support their advocacy efforts, enabling them to engage policymakers with credible evidences.
• That it is within the remit of HPAs to produce evidence informed Policy Letters, Policy Briefs, Position Papers, and other advocacy documents that articulate their stance on crucial health issues. Such documents should be disseminated to policy makers to shape policy design and implementation and should also be published on HPAs websites for broader visibility, making their policy positions accessible to the public and policymakers.
• That the experience of projects such as the PAS shows that HPAs can actively join existing coalitions with other health NGOs and with health coalitions such as the Health Reform Coalition for one voice policy   Being part of a coalition strengthens their collective influence on policy decisions and ensures their concerns are taken seriously.
• That an optimum role for Health Professional Associations must go beyond policy advocacy. HPAs should engage, as a collective, in practical initiatives and projects demonstrating their professional skills in solving cutting edge health challenges. Taking leadership in actionable initiatives that improve healthcare delivery will strengthen HPAs reputation and influence in the health sector
• That HPAs must address key barriers to improved contribution in the health sector, most especially, the low priority given to institutional development and strengthening of associations as formal organizations. HPAs must address these internal challenges to be effective in health policy advocacy and service delivery
• That HPAs are the chief rights holders on all matters related to human capital in the health sector. While HPAs should and must be concerned with the welfare of their members, such associations must equally be committed to members’ professional development, to their conditions of work and associations must also facilitate members’ contribution to problem solving and the resilience of the health sector

Signed:

1. Nigerian Medical Association (NMA)
2. Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN)
3. Nigerian Academy of Medicine (NAMed)
4. Association of Public Health Practitioners of Nigeria (APHPN)
5. Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN)
6. National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria (NACHPN)
7. National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM)
8. Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN)
9. Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Nigeria (SOGON)
10. Society of Public Health Practitioners of Nigeria (SPHPN)
11. West African Institute of Public Health (WAIPH)