By NGOBUA JOHNNIE, Abuja
The West African Health Organization (WAHO), has commenced efforts to harmonise procedural manuals for health professionals across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with a view to improving healthcare delivery, professional standards and patient safety in the sub-region.
President of the Regional Council of Health Professionals (RCHPE), Prof. Koffi Balogou, said the exercise would provide a common framework for health professionals across member states and strengthen cooperation in the regional health sector.
Balogou, who spoke at the opening of a workshop on the finalisation of procedural manuals for health science professionals on Thursday in Abuja, assured the Federal Government that participants would deliver quality work within the three days allocated for the exercise.
He called on participants to approach the assignment with commitment, mutual respect and a spirit of cooperation.
“We promise the Minister of Health, through his representative, that within three days we will provide him with well-done work as we know how to do,” he said.
He urged the experts to work in an atmosphere of peace, love, reconciliation and mutual consideration to ensure the successful completion of the manuals.
The workshop is part of WAHO’s efforts to establish common professional standards and improve the quality of healthcare services across the West African region.
Director-General of WAHO, represented by the organisation’s Head of Training and Human Resources for Health, Prof. Joseph Olorunda, said procedural manuals were essential for ensuring consistency, accuracy and compliance with professional standards in healthcare facilities.
He said the manuals would provide standard guidelines for health professionals, improve communication among healthcare workers, reduce errors and strengthen patient safety.
According to him, the development of competency-based procedural manuals for different categories of health professionals is necessary to achieving the region’s health objectives.
He urged participants to work together to finalise the documents, noting that their adoption would improve service delivery, expand access to universal health coverage and promote the free movement of health professionals across ECOWAS member states.
Olorunda added that the manuals would also encourage networking among hospitals, teaching hospitals, laboratories, training and research institutions across the region.
In his opening address, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by Dr. Dakum Londji, said the competence and professionalism of the health workforce remained central to the strength of any health system.
He said the manuals would standardise training, strengthen professional knowledge and promote safe, ethical and evidence-based clinical practices.
Pate urged experts to ensure that the documents reflected the realities of the region, including digital health, patient safety, professional ethics, emergency preparedness and continuous professional development.
He stressed that the success of the exercise would depend not only on producing the manuals but also on their adoption and impact on healthcare practice and patient outcomes.
The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working with WAHO, ECOWAS member states, regulatory bodies, training institutions and development partners to strengthen health professional standards across the sub-region.
The workshop is important to the health sector because it seeks to establish common professional standards and procedures for healthcare workers across West Africa. By harmonising these manuals, health professionals in ECOWAS member states will have standard guidelines for training, clinical practice, professional conduct and patient care.
Participants expressed excitement that the workshop would help reduce medical errors, improve patient safety, strengthen the quality of healthcare delivery and ensure that health workers operate according to recognised professional standards. They stated that it will also promote the exchange of expertise, cooperation among health institutions and easier movement of qualified health professionals across member states.
Ultimately, the workshop is expected to strengthen regional health systems, improve access to quality healthcare and support the achievement of universal health coverage across West Africa.
The significance of manuals
Procedure manuals for health professionals are essential tools that outline the proper steps for various tasks and processes within a healthcare setting, public health facility and in the community.
They ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance with global best practice and, regulations, with ultimate promotion of public health, patient safety and efficient operations and service delivery.
The specific objectives of the three-day workshop holding at WACOP Hotel & Conference Centre in Gaduwa Distict, Abuja the is to:
- finalize a harmonized procedure manual for all health professions in the ECOWAS region, as part of the strategy to promote and improve professional effectiveness;
- produce a document that would blend in all areas of health care delivery with international standards and universal practices.
The following deliverables are expected at the close of the workshop:
- A harmonized procedure manual for all categories of health professionals finalized and available
- Train more health professionals in different domains and promote their retention
- Maximize use of existing training facilities and promote South-South collaboration
- WAHO to support countries to implement the harmonized curricula
- Advocate with countries to improve basic package for health workers in rural and difficult to reach areas.
- Promote effective service delivery in member countries with the use of the procedure manual
